


Shield Ninja

by Fluffball13



Category: Naruto, 盾の勇者の成り上がり - アネコユサギ | Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari | The Rising of the Shield Hero - Aneko Yusagi
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Crossover, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-11-13 15:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 78,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18034391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffball13/pseuds/Fluffball13
Summary: Naruto always wanted to be a hero. He just never expected he would become one due to a book hit him during his thief of the Forbidden Scroll. Together with Iruka, both have to survive this new world where everything is ruled by numbers and odd rules. Yet, it seemed ninja exist in this world and their mysterious master wants to assist them after they bolted from the summoning room.





	1. Chapter 1

A story about a world ending.  
Four heroes summoned to another world.  
Each with a weapon: sword, spear, bow, and shield.

"Gotcha!"

I looked up from my book and found Iruka-sensei glaring at me with an angry scowl on his face.

I grinned back at him. "About time, Nosebleed!" I chirped out as I pointed at my sensei. "I found you!"

"No, you fool! I found you!" Iruka-sensei huffed as I scratched the back of my head.

"Heh. I guess you have got me. Too bad as I just got to the good part of this book." I held out the book I was reading. "I thought I would have plenty of time to get another technique down after I read this book." I laughed. The Spear Hero was such an awesome guy!

"Now that you say that, you look exhausted." Iruka-sensei raised an eyebrow. "What have you been doing outside reading?"

"Wait! I'll show you!" I put the book in my pocket and raised my hands together. "if I show you what I've mastered, you'll have to let me graduate!" I hummed as I gathered chakra.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?" I stop my focus.

"What's up with that scroll you're carrying?"

"What? This?" I looked at the large scroll on my back. "Mizuki-sensei told me about it and this place!" Joy sprung up in me. "He said if I could show you I'd learned the techniques in this scroll, you'd let me become a shinobi!"

I couldn't wait to show Iruka-sensei my hard-

I gasped out when Iruka-sensei pushed me out of the way of a barrage of kunai. Iruka-sensei slammed his back into the shed I was once standing next to. My eyes shot to the source and I found Mizuki-sensei up in a nearby tree.

"I'm impressed that you figured out where to go," Mizuki-sensei chuckled before he looked at me. "The scroll, Naruto. Give it to me."

"The hell? What is this?" I looked back and forth between my two sensei.

"Don't let him have it, Naruto!" Iruka-sensei grunted as he yanked a kunai from his shoulder. "Protect that scroll with your life. It's more dangerous than you can imagine! It holds the records of the completely forbidden ninja arts. Mizuki used you because he wants it for himself!"

"What?" I narrowed my eyes. Now that Iruka-sensei said it… Mizuki-sensei had been oddly nice of late and the fact he gave me even the information on security at the Old Man's place…

"As if any of that matter!" Mizuki laughed and reeled back with a huge shuriken in his hand. "You're the Nine-Tail Fox!"

"What?" I gasped out as the shuriken was thrown and it headed straight for me.

Me? The fox? No no! The giant pointy thing was heading my way!

I tried to move, but my legs buckled under me when a shadow came at me and I fell onto my butt hard.

"We did it!" I snapped out of my shock and looked right into Iruka-sensei's eyes.

"Naruto," Iruka-sensei blinked and glanced around. "Hold your tongue."

"What you-" My eyes went to the floor. I realized the ground was glowing in an odd pattern and the forest had turned into a dark room. "What in-" Iruka-sensei scooped me up and my surroundings turned into a blinding blur.

"What the?!"

"One of the heroes?!"

"Sensei, what is going on?"

"Don't know, but I rather not find out." Iruka-sensei hissed as I finally got my bearings when he leaped out a window. "What in the Hokage Hat?"

"A-A castle?" I shouted in shock as Iruka-sensei leaped across roofs of a huge fortress of stone. "How we got here?!"

"Again. Don't know."

"What in the Cardinal Heroes?!" We passed by men in plate armor as Iruka-sensei exited the fortress through the gates at high speed. "An intruder?!"

"Wait! One of the heroes-"

"Hold on, Naruto!" Iruka-sensei shouted and I felt something in his legs. The surroundings turned to a blur once more. The blur shifted from greens and yellowed to more stone and colors.

Iruka-sensei gasped out as he slowed down and turned into an alleyway. He let me down and slumped onto a crate to catch his breath.

"This… isn't Konoha." I said as I looked around. The buildings were made of stone and seemed all square or rectangular in shape instead of the various shapes Konoha's buildings took on. In the streets, I saw stalls and people moving about next to huge lizards and fowl I never seen before.

"That's obvious." Iruka-sensei sighed before he patted his chest. "What the? My wounds… They are healed?" I turned to Iruka-sensei and found no signs of the kunai on his vest and clothes.

"Amazing," I said before I realized something on my arm. "A shield?" A metal shield with a green gem in the center of it rested on my right arm.

"Where did that come from?" Iruka-sensei grabbed the shield and my arm went with it. "What the? It won't come off."

"Yeah," I raised an eyebrow before I caught something in the corner of my vision. "What is this?" I focused on the small icon in the corner of my vision.

I yelped when the icon expanded in my vision and turned into various things. However, it was a plate in the center that I focused on.

**Naruto Uzumaki**  
**Shield Hero Lv1**  
**Attack 1**  
**Magic Power 10**  
**Physical Defense 25 (+8)**  
**Magic Defense 22 (+6)**  
**Dexterity 15**  
**Equip Bonus: Defense +3**

"S-Shield Hero?" I asked aloud as everything I read just before Iruka-sensei came back to me. "We're inside the book?!" I shouted as I checked my pocket and found it was gone.

This is the story of the savior who delivered the sacred beasts.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, let me get this straight," Iruka-sensei sighed as we got out of the castle town and stepped onto rolling plains. "This place is the setting of the book you were reading before I found you?" Iruka-sensei's skeptic look made me laugh nervously.

"Yeah! It's the only answer!" I pointed to the shield on my arm. "Four heroes from different worlds are summoned to save this world from destruction. Each had a weapon: sword, spear, bow, and SHIELD," I stressed the last part.

"And where did you get that book?"

"It hit my head when I was looking for the scroll." I pointed at the Forbidden Scroll on my back. "I peeked into it and found an awesome story!… Unlike mine," I pouted with remembering Mizuki-sensei. "He really tricked me and I fell right for it." I kicked a rock out of frustration.

"You trusted him," Iruka-sensei said in a sad tone. "I trusted him, but it seems Mizuki was just pretending to be a teacher and friend this whole time."

"Yeah," I sighed out. "But I should have seen through it."

"I'm not going to scold you on that as he had me fooled, too." Iruka-sensei said before he stopped. "Wait, Naruto, I sense killer intent."

"Huh?" I blinked as I heard movement in the grass. I got into a defensive position as a red triangle popped over something in the grass.

"Gaaagh!" A blur of orange shot out and I punched it. I heard just a boing sound and found my attacker was…

"Is that… a ball?" Iruka-sensei asked as the orange ball creature hit the ground and bounced right back at me with maw wide open.

**Balloon Lv.1**

"Balloon?" I asked as I punched it again. It bounced away from me, yet it came right back at me. "It's kind of scary seeing a ball with teeth."

"Indeed… Naruto! Watch out!"

"Huh?" I reeled back as a hoard of Balloons ambushed me. I closed my eyes and expected pain… But felt nothing. I opened my eyes and found the Balloons trying to eat me.

"Naruto, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah?" I turned to him questionably. "It doesn't hurt at all."

"Really?" Iruka-sensei tried to poke one of the Balloons and it bit his finger. "Owch?!" He reeled his hand back and punched the Balloon off his hand.

Pop!

The Balloon became bits of elastic material on the ground.

"The hell?" Iruka-sensei said as he held his bloody finger. "How are you not hurt?"

"I think it's the shield." I felt some kind of barrier covered my body. I took one of the Balloons and punched it.

Boing! Boing! Boing!

"Come on!" I roared as I punched it harder for the same effect. After a few minutes, I finally popped it.

**EXP +1**

"Huh? What's this?" I blinked at the number that appeared in my vision. Another screen popped up to answer me.

**Help**

**Experience and Levels**   
**By killing a creature, experience points are rewarded. Once enough experience points are collected, one will go up a level. One's abilities grows as they go up in levels. However, only the heroes are not capped on the number of levels they can grow.**

"So I can get stronger by killing things?" I shuddered at that train of thought.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Iruka-sensei asked as he picked up the Balloon skin and studied it.

"The shield… No, Tate-chan says when I kill things, I gain experience which can raise this level thingie to make me stronger.

"Tate-chan?"

"She seems alive." I found the Help section in the odd icons. "She has a manual on how to use her." I gasped out as various plates appeared. I skimmed through them, but it seemed I needed to grow the shield to make it stronger. To do that I needed to level up and feed Tate-chan materials.

I wonder…

"It absorbed it." Iruka-sensei gasped as I took the skin and fed it into the gem of Tate-chan.

"See… I'm the Shield Hero." I beamed with pride.

"But… Is this an illusion?" I watched Iruka-sensei put his hands together. I felt something weird in his body before he opened his eyes. He then bit his wounded finger, hard, before he let out a sigh. "How… can we be in another world?"

"I… actually don't know." I put my fingers to my forehead and thought hard. I remembered the Sword Hero was strong. The Bow Hero did not tolerate injustice. The Spear Hero was loyal to his companions and protected them…

"I can't remember how they were brought into this world," I whimpered in horror. "Worse, most of the story is a blur to me. I only remember bits and pieces!"

"That's expected as you are not the best when it comes to reading."

"Meanie!" I blown a raspberry at my sensei.

"Well, if we are in another world… Our money is useless." I felt the blood drain from my face. "Maybe we should have stayed where we were?"

"Ah!" I smacked my hand into my palm. "The bitch princess!"

"Naruto!"

"No, no. There was this princess that was mean and tricked the heroes into constantly fighting each other." I explained. "I do remember a little about that, so it probably was a good thing we left that castle."

"I see," Iruka-sensei glanced at the Balloons. "You want me to pop those for you?"

"Nah. It be faster if I used a kunai." I yanked out a kunai from my holster and the instant I grabbed it… Sparks lit my hand and I dropped the throwing knife. "What the?!"

**Rule Violation**   
**A weapon other than the assigned Legendary Weapon was held.**

"Rule violation?" I held my smoldering hand as another message popped up.

**Help**   
**The Legendary Weapon Holder may not hold a weapon with the intent to fight unless it is the Legendary Weapon.**

"I can only fight with Tate-chan?!" I yelled out and the phrase seemed to flash to stress the message.

"That's… inconvenient." Iruka-sensei pulled out a kunai and popped the Balloons with simple swings. "Huh? What that-The hell is this?!" Iruka-sensei reeled back and stared into space. "Level up?"

"You see the strange things as well?" Iruka-sensei nodded. "Did you level up?"

"Yes. It says I'm level 2 now."

"But I didn't go up in level." I pouted before another Balloon bounced at me. "Hiyaah!" I slammed Tate-chan into it and dug it into the ground. I squished it over and over till it popped.

Nothing.

Another balloon, another session of smashing and punching. By the twentieth balloon…

**Level Up!**   
**Lv. 2**   
**Max HP 167**   
**Max MP 100**   
**Max SP 100**   
**Attack 1**   
**Magic Power 16**   
**Physical Defense 39**   
**Magic Defense 29**   
**Dexterity 18**

"Finally!" I grinned only to find Iruka-sensei with his arms crossed and worry all over his face. I noticed the position of the sun had changed and gulped. "How long?"

"Quite a bit." Iruka-sensei held up his kunai and sliced down a Balloon that tried to bite me from behind. "Let me handle the creatures for now. You absorb them into your shield."

"Gotcha." I sheepishly laughed as I plucked a Balloon off me and held it up for Iruka-sensei.

* * *

By nightfall, Iruka-sensei was at level 3 and I unlocked two shields. We found a creek with getting close to the forest.

"Ha! Got one!" I held tightly onto the fish I caught with my bare hands.

"Good, good. Bring it over-Huh?" Iruka-sensei and I saw Tate-chan's gem glow. "Wait, try absorbing it into your shield."

"But what about dinner?"

"Just do it." I let Tate-chan eat the fish and I was surprised I unlocked a new shield: the Fish Shield.

"How do I-" I found an icon shaped like a shield and opened it up to expose a huge web of various shields. The highlighted ones were as followed.

**Small Shield**   
**abilities unlocked Defense+3**   
**Orange Small Shield**   
**abilities locked equip bonus: Defense +2**   
**Yellow Shield**   
**abilities locked equip bonus: Defense +2**   
**Fish Shield**   
**abilities locked equip bonus: Fishing Skill 1**

"Fishing Skill 1?" I asked aloud and the Help screen popped up.

**Mastery Bonus**   
**When a shield is used for a while to achieve a certain level of proficiency, it will grant its wielder permanent bonuses.**

So that was why the Small Shield said "abilities unlocked." I was curious of the Fish Shield and selected it from the web.

"Fish Shield," Tate-chan glowed and morphed into a wooden shield with fish carvings in it. "Whoa! It actually changed!"

"How did you do that, Naruto?" Iruka-sensei asked in awe.

"i just imagined the shield and it transformed!" I hummed out before I blinked. Little triangles popped up above the water surface. "Could those be…" I launched myself into the water and snatched up two fishes with aiming for the triangles.

"Amazing!" I tossed the fish to Iruka-sensei and caught several more with ease.

"Naruto! That's enough!" I looked back and sheepishly smiled at the arm full of fish Iruka-sensei struggled with. "This is more than enough for us and our guests."

"Guests?" I came out of the water and felt my stomach dropped. Someone was watching us. "How long?"

"Since we left that castle." Iruka-sensei went to work putting the fish onto sticks and putting them on a small grill set he had pulled out of a cool storage scroll. "They are clearly ninja of high skill."

"So, what are we going to do about-" I jumped when a person appeared on the ground before me. "-Them?" The person had their head low in a bow.

"Sir Shield Hero, please hear me out." The person said as she lifted her head to expose a mask covering her eyes. She wore dark clothing I expected from infiltration specialists.

Oh crap. They were the ANBU of this world.

"Why are you following me?" I demanded while trying not to show how frighten I was.

"First of all, allow me to apologize for my country summoning you." The masked lady bowed her head again. "My liege is currently out of the country to figure out who would summon who when the King summoned all four of you heroes here."

"Huh? There were three others?" I paled at realizing Iruka-sensei and I left three other "summonees" back at the castle.

"Yes. However, they are safe and I am glad you ran away, Sir Shield Hero." The masked lady said in a serious tone. "The King likely summoned you for nefarious reasons."

"Ne… Nefarious?" I asked.

"Bad, Naruto." Iruka-sensei said as he stood up.

"What do you mean and why are you telling me when he is your king?" I demanded as my anger rose.

"I am my Liege's Shadow, not her king's." The masked lady huffed a little in frustration. "My fellow Shadows are investigating exactly what is going on. My team and I went after you to ensure your safety when you were carried off by… that Shadow over there." The masked lady looked at Iruka-sensei.

"Iruka-sensei is my teacher." The masked lady flinched in shock. "We ended up here together."

"Is he a hero as well?" The masked lady whispered before I saw Iruka-sensei on edge.

"Naruto… You can understand what that kunoichi is saying?" Iruka-sensei asked with his hand ready to snatch a kunai from his holster.

"Yeah. Isn't she speaking clearly?" I cocked my head in confusion.

"He doesn't understand me." The masked lady said with a firm frown. "Then he is not a hero…. I gravely apologized for bringing your teacher into our world's affairs."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Only the heroes can understand and speak any language due to the Legendary Weapons." My eyes widen in shock. "It seems due to the King's foolishness, your teacher was dragged with you into the danger of this world."

"Danger?" I asked before it hit me. "The Waves of Catastrophe?"

"Correct." The masked lady confirmed my growing fear. "The Dragon's Hourglass's sand falls steadily for the next wave. We estimated we have a month roughly before the next Wave."

"And I have to get strong enough to face the Waves?" The masked lady nodded. "Yet, why? How can four heroes save the world?"

"The heroes can become far stronger than normal people." The masked lady then pumped her fist with a straight face. "However, to think one of the heroes would be a fellow Shadow. I am honored to meet you."

"But, that could also mean you could be lying." I seethed as I thought back to Mizuki and his betrayal.

"I understand," The masked lady gave a soft, small smile. "We Shadows are not a trusting lot. At least let me assist you as I don't know all the King has done to prepare for summoning all four heroes."

"Well…" I looked at my clothing. The townsfolk and even this kunoichi was dressed differently to what Iruka-sensei and I wore. Thankfully, we could still blend into the crowd, but if people were really looking for us…

"Ask and I will do anything in my power to assist."

"Clothes and money." Iruka-sensei and the masked lady looked at me in shock. "Just enough for Iruka-sensei and I can survive on to get ourselves together."

"That is doable right away." The masked lady jumped back and disappeared into the shadows.

"So… What did she say?" Iruka-sensei asked and I explained to him all what the masked lady told me. We decided to sleep in shifts… Yet, the ninja in this world were truly indeed skilled.

We found clothing, a sack of silver coins, and other supplies laid out near us when we ate leftover fish for breakfast and no… Shadow in sight.

* * *

"Iruka and Naruto," The man in plated armor looked over the papers we had and nodded. "You may pass."

"Thank you." I took the papers and gotten a stern frown from the man. "Oh, do you know where we can sell these?" I showed the armored man the leftover Balloon skins.

"There are various merchants who buy monster loot in the main square." The armored man blandly spoke and I took it at face value.

"He didn't seem to happy," Iruka-sensei said as we walked through the streets.

"I know." And it wasn't due to Tate-chan. I had an odd katana that had blades on both sides and just a bit bigger than a knife on my hip. I could use it as an utility knife and hide Tate-chan in one of her other forms. Iruka-sensei had a longer katana on his hip as well as we wore together simple shirts and pants of muted colors. "Must not like guard duty."

"Maybe," Iruka-sensei sighed as we followed the crowd to the streets lined with stalls and shops. It didn't take us long to find a seller of travel rations and preserved foods.

"How may I help you, good sir?" The stall owner looked at Iruka-sensei.

"We need some rations." The stall owner blinked and looked down at me. "How much is a week's worth?"

"Boy, I'm talking to this gentleman." I flinched at the man's scolding tone. "Sorry, sorry. This little demi is quite rude."

"What did he say?" Iruka looked at me as my face felt hot.

"Wait a…"

"Sorry for talking your precious time, sir." I took Iruka-sensei's hand and went back to search for another stall. "Demi?" I whispered as I found a stall with what looked to be preserved meats and various foods. "Ah, good day, sir. Do you sell travel rations?"

"Yes, I-" The instant the man looked at me, his eyes turned hot. "Sorry. I don't serve Demi-humans. Get away from my stall, you filth."

"Y-Yes, sir." I left with Iruka-sensei and it was the same with other stalls till one finally sold us some preserved meat and vegetables for a silver coin.

"Hm. Boy, you're sure the oddest demi-human I ever seen." The lady said as she packaged our goods. "You look almost human."

"Demi-human?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Aren't you one with those whiskers?" The lady came from behind the stall and rubbed my cheeks. "They aren't real whiskers?!"

"Yeah. They are birthmarks."

"Oh! I'm so sorry for confusing you for a Demi!" She then looked at Iruka-sensei. "You should be careful with your son. Someone might try and sell him into slavery!"

"Slavery?!" I recoiled from her.

"What does she mean, Naruto?" Iruka-sensei demanded and the lady's eyes widened.

"Oh, dear. You're father doesn't speak Melromarc?"

"Ah, yeah. He doesn't," I quickly recovered. "Why would I be enslaved?"

"You look a lot like a Demi-human when you squint like that," The lady said with a bit of worry. "Add in those birthmarks and anyone not paying attention closely would think you were a Demi-human, dear. Seeing your ears tells me you are human."

"So I look like a Demi-human?" I frown when she nodded to me. "Thanks. I didn't realize that."

"No, no. I'm just glad you know before someone tried selling you into slavery. You might want to get a haircut and maybe put some make-up over those birthmarks." The lady suggested and added a loaf of bread into our purchase. "Melromarc isn't kind to demi-humans."

"Good to know." We shifted away from the stalls and I told Iruka-sensei what happened.

"Demi-human?" Iruka-sensei asked as he sealed the food away in scrolls. We rested in an alleyway, away from the hustle and bustle of the streets. "Why would they think you are this demi-human thing? You're human."

"She said my birthmarks make me look like one." I answered as I rubbed my whiskers. "Do you have some make-up?"

"No, but we can see if there is a make-up seller." Iruka-sensei sighed out, "I rather not chance the people here being able to see through transformations."

"Am… I not human?" Iruka-sensei looked at me in shock. "Mizuki… He said…" I bit my lip.

Did… Did Iruka-sensei lost anyone to the Nine-Tailed Fox?

I shifted nervously when he got closer to me.

"To me, you are Uzumaki Naruto, no matter whatever you are." Iruka-sensei ruffled my hair as my eyes went wide. "Mizuki… was sort of right, but to me, you're not the fox."

"So… I am the fox in human form?" I whimpered out as I thought back at how the villagers reacted to me… And how different their now clearly ice cold, fear-filled hatred differed from the heated hatred these people who thought I was a demi-human had towards me.

I take the ice cold hatred over the heated hatred any day.

"I don't really know." Iruka-sensei kneeled down to my eye level. "All I know is the Fourth Hokage sealed the fox and you are the seal. I don't understand the concept well enough to know for sure… What I do understand is you are a person, not the fox that attacked twelve years ago."

"But… It still means I'm not human." I gripped my pants and fought back the tears. "What… have I done?" All my pranks… Weren't I just adding salt to the wounds? Would they ever let a cold blooded murderer like me even become a ninja? Let alone even think of me as Hokage material?

Why me? Why did the Fourth Hokage bound me into this form?

"I don't know," Iruka-sensei repeated as he patted my head. "But, to me, you are just as human as me." Tears went down my cheeks. "I… was the class clown when I was your age. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I had when I was younger."

"So… That's why even when Mizuki suggested the pass…"

"Yeah… But, I guess I now have plenty of one on one time with you to make you a ninja worth the title of Hokage." Iruka-sensei grinned back at me.

"Gotcha." I nodded as I wiped the tears away before I laughed. "Though, I might be the first Hokage unable to pop a Balloon." Iruka-sensei snorted before he barked into laughter. I grinned, but still felt a bit… empty…

Oh, well, if Iruka-sensei was happy, then so was me.

* * *

"Why would I sell make-up to a demi-human!"

"Agh! Retreat!" Iruka-sensei and I rant out of the fourth beauty product shop.

"And stay out!" The lady huffed and slammed the door in our faces."

"What did demi-humans do for this kind of treatment?" Iruka-sensei sighed out as I caught a glimpse of an odd group. There was a guy with the spear. He looked like a normal civilian from back home… But he had four ladies in various combat attires all around him.

"Lord Motoyasu! I recommend this place!" The cute red hair swordswoman pointed to a shop with a sign that had two katana crossing over a shield.

"Awesome! Let's get us some gear!" The group entered the shop and I led Iruka-sensei to it. It was filled with weapons and various armors.

"I think… that guy is one of the other heroes." I said as Iruka-sensei and I watched the group talked to the large weaponsmith.

"He's speaking Fire," Iruka-sensei said as the weaponsmith recommended chainmail to the young man. "He says he has a lot of leveling to do."

"How much money does he have?" I whispered with seeing the other ladies getting gear as well.

"It seems your share was divided out to the other heroes." Iruka-sensei lip read. "He says… No, it seems it is best not to see him as an ally."

"Huh? Why?" I raised an eyebrow before I saw the spear guy go over near the spears on the wall. He touched them and then smirked. A smirk that grown into a grin by the time he touched every spear.

"Weapon copy?" Iruka-sensei whispered out before he grabbed my wrist. "Let's go inside."

"Okay." I wanted a closer look at my fellow hero. We entered the shop and the spear guy and his group looked at us."

"Ugh. Why is a lowly demi-human here?" The red hair swordswoman growled. She wore a white armor with a fancy sword on her hip. The other ladies also looked at me with contempt.

"Oh, hello," The spear guy gave a friendly smile at us. "You are also here for gear?"

"Sort of," I answered as I glanced around and brimmed with joy. "Yes. They got it." I looked at the various mantles and capes.

"Hm? May I help you?" The weaponsmith said as he finished the transaction with the group of five.

"We like each a sturdy mantle," I said as I held up two fingers. "How much for leather armor?"

"Hm? About fifty silver for both of ya." The weaponsmith said and I looked to Iruka-sensei.

"We have thirty silver and some copper."

"Damn. Not enough," I hissed. "Could we just get some sturdy clothing along with the mantles for, say, a silver?"

"Sure. And it cleans out some of my backstock I had collecting dust," The weaponsmith grinned.

"Why are you servicing a filthy demi-human?" One of the girls snarled.

"Hm? That kid is no demi-human." The weaponsmith laughed. "I've seen plenty to tell the difference."

"Oh, well. A demi-human is still a demi-human." The red hair swordswoman snorted. "Let's go to the fields and train, Lord Motoyasu."

"Yeah. Best go and test out this new gear!" The spear guy laughed as his group exited the shop.

"Jeez. Sorry kid. Melromarc isn't too fond to demi-humans. Even to lookalikes ." The weaponsmith shrugged and sighed.

"No problem," I said before I had an idea. "Do you buy weapons?"

"Sure I do," Shuriken would be obvious, so I pulled out all the kunai in my holster. "Throwing knives, huh? Let me see them." I put the kunai on the counter. The weaponsmith pulled out a looking glass from his apron and held it over his eye. The lens of the looking glass glowed yellow and he looked over the kunai.

"What the?" The weaponsmith dropped the looking glass and stared at the kunai. "Other world… Don't tell me your one of the heroes!"

"Ssssh!" I put a finger over my mouth to try and shut the weaponsmith up. Who knows whose Shadows lurked!

"Huh? Why don't- Oh! Are you the dud one, the Shield Hero?"

"Gagh!" I ruffled my hair in frustration. "How? How did you know?"

"Your blades say they are from another world." I had a blank look on my face. "And you have a shield with your blade."

"Jeez. Way for me to blow it." I smacked my face and Iruka-sensei put his hand on my shoulder. "So, what are you going to do? Turn me to the King?"

"Huh?" The weaponsmith cocked his head. "Sure, rumors of the Shield being a lame duck has been going around, but why would I turn you over to the knights?"

"Because Iruka-sensei and I ran from… our summoners?" I think that was the right term. "We were in the middle of a battle when… Woosh, we were in this dark room, so we ran."

"Well, that explains some things." The weaponsmith chuckled. "Then again, you were dragged from your world to this one to save it. Your reaction makes sense to me."

"So?"

"I won't tell anyone." The weaponsmith gave me a thumbs up. "How about I trade you that leather armor for these blades as I don't know what to price them. If you keep coming back, I'll give you discounts since you are all on your… Wait, who is your pal?"

"Iruka-sensei. He got dragged to this world with me."

"Pleasure to me you." Iruka-sensei bowed and the weaponsmith went wide-eyed.

"No wonder you are wary. I never heard of someone, not a hero being summoned with the heroes." The weaponsmith said as he went through some crates. "At least you have an ally you can trust."

"Indeed." I nodded as the weaponsmith pulled a small breastplate from the crate.

"A little old, but it should fit you, Little Shield."

"I ain't little!" I puffed my cheeks out in frustration but took the breastplate without fuss. Iruka-sensei is also gotten one that was on display on one of the mannequins.

"Now you look the part." The weaponsmith grinned at me as I put on a mantle and buried my chin into the fabric. "Ha ha. That's one way to deal with people confusing you for a demi-human."

"What's a demi-human,anyway?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"They look kinda human, but have extra features like tails and such." The weaponsmith sighed. "They are technically the same as humans, yet this place sees them closer as monsters."

"I… see." So I might be a demi-human after all. It might be what the Fourth Hokage turned me into.

"Well, you need anything else?"

"No. Thank you so much!" I grinned back at the weaponsmith before we left the weapon shop with a better outlook.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

I unleashed a warcry and slammed my fist into the Red Balloon on my arm. I have been at it for almost an hour.

"Come… on!" I punched one last time… and the Red Balloon just kept munching on my arm. "Agh! Why can I not pop it!"

"That is odd." Iruka-sensei sighed as he took out his katana and swung it at the Red Balloon. It popped in one swing. "Then again, that defense of yours is inhuman."

"I just wanna defeat something," I groaned Iruka-sensei was already at level 5 while I was still at level 3. How was I to get stronger without experience points?

"We need to figure out a solution," Iruka-sensei said as I fed the skin into Tate-chan.

It has been four days since we came into this world and we hadn't gotten very far. We mainly focused on the plains so Iruka-sensei could get used to his new katana. We then moved closer to the woods and met my worst enemy: Red Balloons.

I couldn't pop them even after fighting them for an hour. Worse, Balloons barely earned us any money with their skins, so we needed a new hunting ground.

**Red Small Shield conditions met.**   
**Red Small Shield**   
**(abilities locked) equip bonus: Defense +4**

"Another defense bonus?" I whined out as I changed Tate-chan to her newest form. "When will I get something for attack!"

"Is there something the matter, Sir Shield Hero?" I let out a silent scream as the masked lady appeared before me.

"Jeez. Give me a heart attack, would you?" I glared at the Shadow. "Why are you here?"

"I came to report our findings to you, Sir Shield Hero." The masked lady said with raising her head. "It seems the King will leave you alone for now as long as you don't try to leave the country."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"The King has tighten security at the borders to ensure you can't leave. He has decided to spread rumors about you being a coward and dud hero and watch you from afar."

"I heard that," I sighed. "Bet he is waiting for me to appear and fight back on those rumors."

"Indeed, but he knows you are here." I frowned at the masked lady. "You are having difficulties leveling up?"

"Yeah." I flinched as she hit the nail right on the head.

"He has spread that rumor as well. Maybe your fellow otherworlder is not compatible with this world's ways?"

"But how am I to level up my shield without help!" At least with Iruka-sensei, I've been gaining new shields.

"My Liege has a solution." The masked lady smiled at me. "If you follow me, I will lead you to an associate of my Liege."

"How can I trust you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Sadly, I cannot prove my trustworthiness to you." The masked lady sighed. "But, please, allow my Liege and her Shadows assist you. You have alluded even the missionaries from other countries wanting to aid you."

"So other countries want me," I sighed, remembering the various "visits" we had gotten when we tried to rest at the inns. It gotten to the point we just stopped running and slept in the fields. A blessing, really, if the King was refusing me the right to leave the country.

Getting mixed up in other countries would only make Iruka-sensei and I targets to someone. Who, I don't know outside clearly this king. There has to be others wanting their fangs and claws in a hero.

"Yes. However, my Liege is hard at work trying to stop a war from starting due to the King's foolishness." The masked lady stood up. "Due to this, there isn't much we can do to help… So please allow me to serve you this one time."

I puckered my lips… How could-Oh!

"Can you gather herbs that would be useful to me?" The masked lady stared at me. "Do that and I will listen to you this one time."

"Yes sir!" The Shadow disappeared and in under thirty minutes, she came back with several bundles of various herbs. "These are Aelo. They can treat wounds if processed." She offered the first bundle to me. I took a few leaves and let Tate-chan absorb them.

**Leaf Shield conditions met.**   
**Leaf Shield**   
**(abilities locked) equip bonus: Foraging Skill 1**

"What the?" I expected something for healing or poison. I switched Tate-chan to the Leaf Shield and noticed a plant similar to the leaves next to me. I bent down and reached for the plant.

A positive sound rang out and the plant tore free easily. The grass glowed faintly and a screen popped up.

**Foraging Skill 1**   
**Aelo: quality: fair increased to excellent**   
**A medicinal herb for treating wounds**

"Whoa," I put this herb away in my bag and allowed Tate-chan to absorb the other bundles of herbs. I didn't unlock any more shields, but Tate-chan showed me the herbs were stored away in my shield along with… other items? I saw monster parts, but there were a knife also in the mix of herbs and such in my shield.

No. Let's not focus on that.

Tate-chan was a mysterious being, after all.

"Alright, lead the way." The masked lady nodded and we followed her back to castle town. She showed us a route to sneak into the castle town and then lead us to the darker red light districts existed in this world as well.

"Are you sure about this, Naruto?" Iruka-sensei asked as we reached a large tent with white and red stripes.

"I have no choice. I need to get stronger to save the world." It was our goal. We already skimmed through the Forbidden Scroll and found nothing to help us get home. Hence we needed to fight these Waves and look for our own way home.

"Here we are." My stomach dropped when we entered the tent and found it full of cages. I covered my nose and my eyes went wide at the sight of human like beings in the cages… Yet some had animal ears while others looked more animal than human.

"What is this place?" I whimpered out as we followed the masked lady deeper into the tent.

"I think.. this is a slave market." Iruka-sensei snarled out in disgust as we reached the middle of the tent where a sort of office was set up.

"Oh? Welcome, welcome!" A small, plump man in a fancy suit greeted us. "How may I be of service to you three? Here for a monster or slave?"

"I'm here under orders of my Liege." The masked lady pulled out a scroll and handed it to the pump man. "Sir Shield Hero needs a slave."

"Oh?" The plump man opened the scroll and his face instantly went pale. Then a huge grin formed on his face. "To think one of the heroes would honor me with their presence." The plump man bowed to Iruka-sensei and me. "Now, what are you looking for?"

"A slave that can fight." The masked lady answered.

"The follow me." The plump man skipped along as we followed him. "I recommend this one." The creature inside was half man, half wolf.

"What is it?" I asked in shock.

"Ah, is there no beastmen in your world?" The plump man spun his cane. "Allow me to explain. Demi-humans and beastmen are basically like people, but they have extra features. Demi-humans look mostly human with small differences. While the beastmen like this wolf type have a wild side. Since this country is a human supremacy, demi-humans and beastmen often are discriminated and end up slaves."

"I see." I rubbed my cheek and looked at the wolf beastman.

"Also, these slaves have this particular feature," The slave trader snapped his fingers loudly. When he did so, an aura appeared around his arm and, at the same time, some shape on the chest of the wolf man glowed.

"Arrrgh! Awoo! Awoo!"

The wolf man howled in pain and gripped its chest. The plump man snapped his fingers again and the glowing shape disappeared on the wolf man's chest.

"Punishment is as simple as a snap of your fingers."

"Was that really necessary?" I looked at the poor wolf man sprawled out on the floor.

"Naturally you can change how punishment works." The plump man grinned at me. "It works through your status magic."

"Status Magic?"

"You don't know what status magic is?" The plump man gasped in shock.

"More… I don't know what this 'magic' thing is." I answered.

"I see. You must not have magic in your world." The plump man sighed before he chuckled. "Think of the curse you just saw as a collar. If the slave disobeys like lies to you, the collar punishes the slave."

"So they can't betray me?" I went wide-eyed at the plump man.

"Exactly," So that was why this Shadow lead us here. "However, a ceremony is necessary. The owner's information must be shared with and absorbed by the slave."

"So that the slave can always understand the owner's intention?" I asked.

"You have a very good head on your shoulders." The slave trader flashed a sinister smile.

"I understand." I looked to thwolfman. "How much does this one cost?"

"Well, you must understand how useful beastmen are in a fight. Naturally, this affects the price… How about 15 gold pieces?"

"Gold?!" I shouted in a panic. I only had silver!

"Do not worry, Sir Shield Hero," The masked lady spoke up. "My Liege is covering the cost."

"Still," That would mean I would owe my… benefactor a lot. I rather not be indebted in another world… Also, I caught glimpse of the wolf man's legs. "He's damaged goods?"

"Ah, yes. He used to be a fighter at the Colosseum." The plump man chuckled. "Sadly, he has gotten injured and couldn't keep on fighting there. If not for the scarring, he would be much higher in value. His level is at 75."

Seventy-five! That was nearly twenty times my level!

"Then can you show me your cheapest you got that ain't broken?"

"Gladly. I wouldn't be a proper businessman with not showing my best first." The plump man grinned. "What type of slave are you looking for?"

"One that can read and write." I have gotten the surprise of everyone at that. "Iruka-sensei can't understand… Melromarc. And I can't read the language here." It was a glaring problem as there were signs up for various reasons, yet I couldn't understand them. Especially the "we don't serve demi-human" signs that some of the owners pointed at when they saw my whiskers.

"So, a demi-human. Many beastmen rarely get a chance to learn the language here." The plump man said as he skipped to another part of the tent. "I can't really offer ones for battle as they will lack what you want… They will also be low level."

"I don't mind. We will grow together." I answered. "They will pay me back by helping me both on and off the battlefield."

"Good answer." The plump man answered as we reached a quieter area. That is, until the sound of crying children wretched into me. The cages were filled with dirty children and older demi-humans. They looked miserable. The plump man stopped before three cages.

"These are the cheapest slaves I can offer you today, good sir… Well, outside of the dead ones, that is."

The first cage had a man with the ears of a rabbit. One of his arms was twisted in an odd way and he looked to be around Iruka-sensei's age. The next cage held a girl around my age. She was unbelievably skinny and her eyes looked terrified. She had ears similar to a dog's, but rounder. She appeared to have a large round tail as well. The last cage held a lizard man whose eyes darted around the room violently. To someone unlike me, it might look like he was searching for something to kill. Yet, I recognized the fear and lack of trust in his face. He seemed more like a man than a lizard, though.

"From the right, they are a rabbit type with a genetic disorder, a raccoon-type suffering from panic attacks, and a mixed breed, the lizard man."

Oh, so the lizard man was like a mutt. Probably of a human and real lizard man.

"They seem in bad shape."

"Yes, If we lower the bar even more…" The plump man glanced quickly to the back wall. I followed his gaze and felt sick. The smell of death assaulted me and I focused back on the slaves before me.

"How much are we talking?"

"From the right, 2, 1, and 3 pieces of gold."

Still talking gold, damn. "What are their levels?"

"So you do know of status magic," THe plump man chimed. "Five, one, and eight."

So the strongest was the lizard man… Yet, I could see calluses I recognized from the Old Man's office workers on the rabbit man's hand. He had experience dealing with some kind of writing. The rabbit man had a useless arm, but the rest of him looked just fine.

"Why are they so quiet?"

"Because they are punished when they make noise." The plump man turned to the raccoon girl and she curled into herself with a whimper. "This one is especially a problem with her panic attacks. Her last owner sure did love his torture."

"Is that why she is so cheap?" Outside being skinny, she looked like a normal girl.

"Yes as well as she isn't a fox-type. If she was, she'd fetch a much better sum."

"And this is the best you have in stock?" I snorted as I looked over all three demi-humans. I narrowed my eyes as… I recognized the look in all three of their eyes.

I…once had the same eyes like them. Of fear and terror and hopelessness.

"You really hit it where it hurts."

"How much is a gold piece?" I turned to the masked woman.

"A hundred silver make one gold piece."

So, the prices were really 200, 100, and 300 pieces of silver. Armor that was good for Iruka-sensei and I was 50 silver if I hadn't traded. Balloon skins went for 1 copper for every two skins. If coppers to silver were the same to silver to gold… then…

"I'll buy all three for 5 gold."

"What? Shouldn't it be 6?"

"Make it 4 as these three are skinny as hell."

"I would be giving one away for free?!"

"Would you rather I take these three dying slaves off your hands or you want no business." I stood my ground and glared at the slave trader. "If you cared for your merchandise better, maybe I would shell out more."

"Oh, ho!" The plump man clapped his hands together in excitement. "Alright. Four gold pieces, my boy! Commission included. You are quite the one… I expect much business from you."

"I will have the paperwork done to pay-"

"Wait. I need to get equipment and clothes for these three." I held my hand up. " I want paperwork for all I owe your liege."

"You do not owe my Liege anything," The masked lady bowed. "We need all the heroes able to fight."

"And I don't want to be in debt when everything is said and done," I growled back. "I will pay back this loan."

"I understand Sir Shield Hero." The masked lady nodded to me. "I will draft up a receipt for you to receive your payment, Sir Beloukas."

"Gladly!" Sir Beloukas barked out in laughter. "My little Shield Hero, I like you very much. Let's see what kind of slave master you will become." Beloukas pulled out a key and opened the three cages. He clipped chains onto the slaves' collars when they walked out.

"Are you sure about this?" Iruka-sensei asked me with shock in his voice.  
"Do you realize they you will own these lives?"

"We need the help. The two of us can't fight these Waves alone." I answered and glanced back at the slaves as we returned to the office area. "Plus… I don't think I could decide between the three with that look in their eyes."

"Their eyes?" Iruka-sensei asked before his eyes widened. "I see… Actually, Naruto, ask the slave trader a question for me."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Does that seal we saw earlier prevents lying and attacking the master?" I parroted the question to Beloukas.

"Why, yes, and more. With the crest on their chests, it is impossible to defy you," I told Iruka-sensei Beloukas's answer.

"Then I will get a slave seal."

"What?!" I looked at Iruka-sensei and saw his face was serious. "What do you mean?! Why the hell would you want to be a slave?!"

"We don't know if people of this world can produce illusions and transform like us ninja." My eyes widen, "By putting the seal where I can't lie or hurt you, you will always know if someone is posing as me if they attack or lie."

"Then… I'll get a slave crest as well!" Beloukas, the masked woman, and even the three slaves looked at me in shock. "I can't just put a seal on you and you expect me not to do the same!"

"Naruto, it's alright, I-"

"What… What if I become as I did before?" Iruka-sensei's eyes widen at me. "I don't want to go back to being a beast. Please," Tears welled up in my eyes. "If you can use it to keep that… past me at bay, then it will be worth it."

I was scared. Ever since I found out I was once the Nine-Tailed Fox, I barely slept at all. Would my memories return and change me? Or would I go berserk and be a blind beast if I got too worked up?

It made me glad Tate-chan chose me as my only inhuman feature now was my defenses.

"I… see." Iruka-sensei crossed his arms and sighed. "Fine. But no pranking with these seals. Slavery seals are legit dangerous if misused."

"Okay. How much would it be to make Iruka-sensei my slave and me Iruka-sensei's slave?"

"W-What?!" The masked lady covered her mouth. Beloukas stood there in shock for a moment before he shook his head.

"A… hundred silver for the both of you, but is that… wise? I never have done such an arrangement before?" Beloukas nervously rubbed his chin.

"We don't know who to trust, so we are going to use that slave seal to make sure we can all trust each other."

"So, it's more a sign of trust than enslavement?" I nodded. "Oh, you are giving me goosebumps. You are quite the out of the box master, Sir Shield Hero." We arrived at the office and Beloukas pulled out a tray with various bottles and brushes. He mixed an ink into the dish on the tray. "To register yourself to the slave, you must transfer your information through your blood."

"Okay," I took my short katana from its sheath and sliced my thumb.

"Ah, a careful one." Beloukas grinned as I dropped my blood into the ink. "Let's begin with your new slaves as I will have to brand your pal and you." Beloukas took the dish and brush before he walked over to the raccoon girl. She tried to cover her slave crest, but Beloukas pushed her hands down.

Beloukas took a brush load of ink and drawn a circle on the tattooed crest on her chest. The ink evaporated as the crest glowed and the girl gritted her teeth in pain.

"What's going on?" I asked with a little panic.

"Nothing to worry about," Beloukas said as he did the same to the rabbit man and lizard man. "The pain will dissipate soon. That slave crest branded on their chests makes it impossible for them to defy you."

**Contract**   
**Acquired Slave A**   
**Acquired Slave B**   
**Acquired Slave C**

Various settings appeared in my vision and three bars appeared below my own bars.

"Set as companions?" I raised an eyebrow but quickly selected most of the conditions of violation turned on. They probably hate me, but I have to look out for Iruka-sensei and myself.

"There you go." Beloukas then turned to Iruka-sensei and me. "Now, to do the brand on you two."

"Right," We both exposed our chests and Beloukas pulled out another bottle. He dipped a clean brush into it and painted the same crest as what my slaves had on us. "Alright. This will hurt, so watch your tongue."

Iruka-sensei gritted his teeth as Beloukas painted the crest with the blood-soaked in. He collapsed to one knee and a new contract appeared.

**Contract**   
**Iruka Umino Acquired.**

A bar with Iruka-sensei's name appeared under the other slaves and I selected only lying to me and attacking me as violation conditions for Iruka-sensei's crest.

"Alright, your turn, Sir Shield Hero." Beloukas pulled out another dish and prepared more ink. Iruka-sensei pulled out a kunai and cut his thumb. He dropped his blood into the ink and I tensed in preparation of pain.

I felt the ink painted onto the crest and it bubbled… Before a red hot… burning? Flowing? Something shot out from my stomach and attacked the crest.

"What the?!" Beloukas gasped as the crest evaporated off my chest and I flinched from a jolt from Tate-chan.

**Rule Violation!**

I didn't need to know the rest. I recognized the pain from when I tried to use a kunai. Was that my old power?

I sighed in relief. Tate-chan saw my old power as a weapon. She could save me from using it.

"Was this the doing of the Legendary Shield?" The masked lady asked and I shook my head. I then saw alongside the slave crest in the menu was the monster crest.

"No… I'm not human," I answered and steeled myself. "Put a strong monster seal on me."

"A monster crest on a Hero?" Beloukas asked in awe before he shook his head. "Are you sure? A strong monster crest cost eight gold coins.

Ow! Now he says it. That would put me right at where that Wolfman was priced at… But…

"Do it." I bit my lip and Beloukas nodded.

"Stand right here, Shield Hero." Beloukas had me move over to a spot with more space. "This will hurt a lot, but try not to resist." Beloukas snapped his fingers and several men in robes appeared around me. One spilled a jug of what smelled like medicine at my feet before they all started to chant.

I gritted my teeth as a large crest appeared on the floor beneath me and sparks flown all around me. The heat came back and build up in my chest.

"No!" I tried to will it back. I felt the crest slowly crawl onto my skin painfully. "I want this!"

"Foolish boy, you want to be controlled?" A gravelly voice came into my head as pain blinded my vision. "I refuse to be controlled."

"And I refuse to be you!" I shouted at what was clearly my old self. "I refuse to be the fox!" I screamed out as the pain hit a peak and, before I was known it, I was on the floor gasping for air. My chest stung and I saw bits of the crest on my chest.

"Tch. Boy, you better not lead us to our deaths," The gravelly voice faded off and Iruka-sensei rushed over to me.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Iruka-sensei helped me up and I felt relief as the pain went away… Only to groan when Beloukas put the ink to the crest and it burned. "Hey! Give him a moment to recover!"

"It's… alright," I hissed out as the pain dulled. "You weren't kidding when you said it would hurt… Give me the ink."

"Yes, sir." I took the remainder of both inks and I poured it into Tate-chan's gem.

**Slave User Shield conditions met.**   
**Slave User Shield**   
**(ability locked) equip bonus: slave maturation adjustment(small)**

What an odd bonus. And it seemed I unlocked another shield along with had one condition for another, but my level was too low for now.

"Now, that makes it about 12 gold pieces, my boy." Beloukas wrung his hands with a grin on his face. "I'll throw in the man's slave crest in as free as a thank you gift."

"Noted," I flinched as my head did the math. We needed to earn 1200 silver pieces. And that was without equipment and clothes. "Do you have a preferred place you want to buy weapons from?"

"Yes." I barked out before leading the way.

* * *

"Welcome, how can I help you?" The weaponsmith chimed as we entered the shop. "Oh, it's you again. Haven't seen you in a few days." The weaponsmith then looked at my slaves. "What's with this group?"

"I need clothes and weapons." I took off my short katana and handed it to the frighten raccoon girl. "A knife for me, cheap as it will be for utility work."

"Slaves," The weaponsmith sighed but looked over the three slaves. "I think the lizard man can handle an ax… The rabbit man… Considering his arm, you might want him as a magician if he has the affinities for it."

"Magician?" I asked and the weaponsmith cocked his head.

"Haven't-Oh, right. From another world. People who use magic are called mages or magicians." The weaponsmith explained. "Depending on the affinity, they can be attackers, support, or even healers."

"I see." So it might be wise to look into this magic.

"There is a magic shop nearby." I flinched as the masked lady spoke up as she appeared from my shadow. "Magic would be a useful assist in your journey."

"R-Right." Dammit! Further down the hole! "Can you keep it all under 50 silver?" We will wait on armor for later.

"Sure. I can do that." I sighed in relief as the weaponsmith… No, Uncle got some clothes for the trio. They changed and I pointed at the raccoon girl.

"Pull out your katana,"

"My sword?" The raccoon girl asked before I moved my mantle. "Eek! Monsters!" She recoiled back at the sight of various Balloons mawing on me. I plucked off a Red Balloon and held it out.

"Attack this monster," I ordered out. She… seemed the one who would have the most problems with this kind of thing. Best to get started nipping the problem now.

"N-No." She stepped backwards and the slave crest activated. She gripped her chest and wheezed out.

"You're only hurting yourself." I felt sick… But she needed to do this. I needed people who could attack me.

The raccoon girl drew her katana sloppy and she held it out.

"Attack it!"

"Hiyah!" She stabbed the Balloon only to be deflected back and fell on her butt.

"Again! Put more muscle into it!"

She screamed and got back up with more gusto. She stabbed the Balloon right between the maw and it popped.

**Exp +15**   
**Slave A Exp +15**   
**Slave B Exp +15**   
**Slave C Exp +15**   
**Iruka Umino Exp +15**

"What the? I got experience as well?" I asked in awe.

"Probably because when you formed the pact, you made them part of your party," Uncle said with a stale look at me. "Ah, wait… Don't tell me no one told you how to form a party?"

"A… party?" I asked as my eye twitched.

"Yeah. By forming a party, people can share experience while being able to hunt down stronger beings with each other's help." I smacked my face with both hands.

"I'm… sorry, Sir Shield Hero," The masked lady bowed to me. "I assumed you formed a party with Sir Iruka."

"No… I needed the help." I growled out and saw the raccoon girl flinched in fear. "Good job." I padded the girl on the head and she looked at me with shook. "What's your name?"

"Ra… Raphtalia," She whispered out before she coughed.

"Raphtalia." I nodded and looked at the lizard man and rabbit man. "And your names?"

"Matthew." The rabbit man flinched into attention.

"Kaus." The lizardman hissed out with distrust in his eyes.

"Alright. You three will be helping us fight. You will be working to pay back your debt to me."

"Fight… monsters?" Raphtalia asked as fear crossed her face.

"Yes, but I will protect you in exchange for fighting. Got it?"

"Protect… us?" Matthew asked before Uncle got an ax for Kaus. He was gotten a knife for both Matthew and me.

"Alright. Take us to that magic shop." At least I kept the expenses here to half a gold piece. The masked woman showed the scroll to Uncle and got a bill of sale to pay him later.

"Welcome to my shop!" An elderly woman in a dark robe and black pointed hat chimed as we entered the shop full of musty books and various staffs of wood and other odd materials. "How may I help you?"

"My Liege requires your assistance." The masked lady showed the scroll to the elderly lady and she nodded. "Could you check their affinities?"

"Yes, ma'am." The elderly woman said with a smile, "Come over here." She went behind the counter where a crystal ball laid out. Seeing it brought a pang of sadness to me. She held her hands over the crystal ball and mumbled out something for the ball to glow.

"Oh! My boy, you have a rare affinity to healing and support magic along with a small wind affinity." The elderly lady's smile got bigger. "The human adult has such an odd affinity of both Fire and Water magic. The raccoon girl has Light and Shadow affinities which are expected. Be sure to teach her Illusion magic."

The elderly lady looked at Matthew and Kaus. "The lizard man has a low magic affinity, but he could learn some support magic. The rabbit man… Oh my!" She covered her mouth in shock. "An affinity to Fire, Wind, Water, and Support! It is rare for three elemental affinities and support!"

"Could you supply a weapon for the rabbit demi-human?" The masked woman asked.

"Gladly," She studied Matthew. "I would recommend a wand due to his arm."

"Could we purchase crystal-"

"What's the cheapest way to learn magic!" I jumped before the masked lady.

"Well, learning from a grimoire is hard, but you can learn a lot of spells if you work hard at it." The elderly lady hummed. "How about I bundle the superior wand that will last you and a basic magic grimoire for 250 silver pieces?"

"Sold!" I pumped my fist in the air. I owe a total of 15 gold pieces to my mysterious benefactor.

"Come back again as I also have specialized grimoires as well." The elderly lady, Aunt, chimed as we left with a sanded stick with ornate details on the handle and a leather-bound book. The masked lady left us for the shadows and we headed for the gates.


	4. Chapter 4

I heard a stomach growl when we reached the normal streets. I turned to Raphtalia and her face was red.

"Are you hungry?" I asked and she quickly shook her head. "You are…. Well, might as well splurge this once as we will be eating from the wild to conserve money."

"Huh?" Raphtalia blinked while I looked around.

"Matthew, you can read, I assume?"

"Yes. I…. I used to be a general store owner before…" He snapped his lips shut and stared in the distance.

"Good," I saw several restaurants lined up on the road. "Which one of those don't have a sign barring demi-humans?"

"Ah… This one," The shop seemed a little roughed up, but the smell coming from it made my stomach rumble. We walked into the shop and was greeted by a waitress.

"Welcome," The waitress chripped, but flinched at the sight of us.

"We will take a booth in the back if you let us dine here." I quickly spoke up and the waitress nodded. She led us to the back as I heard whispers erupted.

"Demi-humans?"

"Someone should kick them out."

"What would you like to order?" I frowned as she hadn't offered a menu. I glanced around when I saw Raphtalia glazing jealousy at a family eating together. "We'll have what that family is eating for three adults and two children." Raphtalia looked at me in shock as I pointed at the family.

"Alright. All water for drinks?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That will be thirty coppers." I pulled out the copper coins and the waitress took them.

"Why?" Raphtalia whispered out.

"Yeah. What is this?" Kaus growled out with narrowed eyes. "What the hell are we eating here for?"

"Because we are all hungry?" I spoke the truth. "You can't fight on an empty stomach."

"Tch. But we are demi-humans." Kaus glanced at the glazes on us. "Slaves on top of that. You are just wasting your money."

"No. I need the help." I said as I moved my mantle down to expose my cheeks.

"You're a demi-human?" Matthew gasped as Kaus furrowed his brows. Raphtalia looked at me with awe before it shifted to total horror.

"No. I don't know what I am," I sighed. "But I got a lot of stuff on my plate. We will be working together to survive." I grinned at them. "I don't know the slavery laws for my country, so the aim is you three will help me out of debt and I will free you."

"You… can't be serious," Raphtalia spoke up before she cough.

"No. I am." I fingered the crest under my clothes and armor. "Iruka-sensei and I are trying to return to our home country. With how diverse Konoha is, it shouldn't be hard for you three to start a new life there."

"I killed a man." Kaus snorted with his arms crossed. "as if any society would take-"

"Konoha is a ninja village."

"Nin… ja?" Raphtalia asked.

"We have all kinds of people," I answered as Iruka-sensei nodded to me. "Including paid killers." All three looked at me with horror. "I am a ninja-in-training and Iruka-sensei is my sensei."

"The hell?" Kaus hissed at me. "You're a… killer, kid?"

"Sadly, yes." I frowned, but steeled myself. "But now I can only protect people and I rather it that way. There is many different types of ninja and Konoha has a system in place to help everyone, be it they are assassins or healers."

"And I can train them in the basics." Iruka-sensei spoke up. "With what has happened, making them into ninja would be wise."

"Yeah. Iruka-sensei said he'll train you to become ninja. So once you are free, you can choose what kind of ninja lifestyle you want."

"And if we want to not be ninja?" Kaus huffed.

"There are plenty of businesses and jobs for retired ninja." I grinned as the waitress brought our food. My eyes glowed at the little buffet on the plate before me. A rice looking grain mound, a meat patty with some gravy on it, a small omelet, sticks of an odd material and some fruit cut cutely. I felt drool dripped down my chin.

"Wait… No chopsticks?" I looked at the two wooden looking spoons given to me. One had spokes like a pitchfork.

"Chop… sticks?" The waitress asked as I shook my head.

"Nevermind." Iruka-sensei pulled out two pairs of chopsticks from his hip sack. I took one of the pairs and clapped my hands together. "Thanks for the food."

I took some of the rice stuff and carefully put it into my mouth. It tasted just like miso soup. I tried the patty and found it was more fish than a meat patty.

"Huh?" I looked up and saw Matthew, Kaus, and Raphtalia staring at their food. "Go ahead and eat."

"Is this… really for me?" Raphtalia asked as her tail swished from side to side. She had the same meal as me before her.

"Yeah." I smiled as I bit into the omelet. It tasted like an orange and tasty compared to a real orange!

Raphtalia took the flag off the grain mound and stared at it for a second. Then she nodded and took a bit of the grain and put it in her mouth. She quickly began to shovel the food into her mouth. Matthew took the utensils and carefully bit into what looked like bacon. Kaus… shoveled the food into his mouth like Raphtalia, with his hands.

"Gumph." Kaus choked and patted his chest.

"Here." I pushed his glass of water to Kaus and he gulped it down. "How's the food?"

"Delicious!" Raphtalia chimed out before her face twisted to horror and she flinched back.

"Good. Try the omelet, it's good too!" I chirped and Raphtalia looked at me with shock. "Usually I don't like fruity flavors, but this omelet makes it delicious!"

"You're… not mad?"

"Mad?" I cocked my eyebrow. "Why would I be mad? Food is always better with more company!"

"I can't believe this… naive child is now my master." Kaus sighed, but we all ate with gusto. Partly because Iruka-sensei and I know the taste of rations and wildness cooking all too well.

* * *

"Raphtalia!"

"Yes, sir!" I ripped the Red Balloon off my arm. I held it in place as Raphtalia stabbed it and it popped.

"Good job!" I chimed before I fed the skin into Tate-chan. Raphtalia went up to level 2.

"I thought you bought us to fight." Kaus snorted as Iruka-sensei, Matthew, and he caught up with us. "Why are you having that pipsqueak do all the work?" Raphtalia shivered as she flattened on her head when she glanced at Kaus.

"These Balloons are weak, perfect to get her used to her katana." I explained, "But we are going into the woods, so there is bound to be tougher stuff to fight." I glanced at the woods. "Iruka-sensei, how should we proceed? It would be a bit hard for all of us to fight in a forest." The trees were spaced out a little, but they still made it tight for a group of five to fight.

"True," Iruka-sensei nodded as he glanced at the forest. "It probably is best we split up into smaller groups."

"This is perfect timing!" I hummed out and put my hands together. "Time to show my stuff! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I shouted and smoke engulfed me.

"What the?" Matthew gasped as all four looked at me and the four other… mes? How was I supposed to call clones of myself?

"Clones," Iruka-sensei then touched one of the clones. "They are solid?! How did you-" Iruka-sensei went wide-eyed. "You learned how to do this forbidden jutsu before I found you?"

"Yeah!" One of my clones answered. "I couldn't believe my least favorite jutsu could be so awesome!"

"Check your vision," Iruka-sensei began to panic.

"Huh? What's wrong?" I looked at my status magic and gasped. "Why are my bars cut to a fifth!" My HP, MP, and SP numbers had been reduced while my stats points remained the same.

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu was rumored to be put in the Forbidden Scroll due to it divides the user's chakra by the number of clones made."

"But I made way more clones and it was alright." I stared at the numbers. If I made the amounts I did before… I would barely have any numbers left!

"That was in our world," Iruka-sensei answered with a frown. "We don't know the effects chakra have here."

"True." This world was run by numbers as I saw. My attack was only one, after all. "But why does my stats stay the same? Shouldn't they have divided as well?"

"I heard the shadow clones are just as powerful as the original," Iruka-sensei said, "It's not like Elemental type clones that are only a percentage of the user's strength. However, if the defense of your clones is the same as yours… Then there will be no worries of them being dispersed by a single attack."

"That's something that could happen?"

"You didn't read it properly?" Iruka-sensei nursed his forehead. "What were you… Right," Iruka-sensei sighed as he took one of my clones. "Let's meet back at the creek."

"Okay!" I saluated and took Raphtalia's hand. "You, go gather herbs." My last clone nodded when the other two clones took Matthew and Kaus into the woods.

As we got deeper into the woods, Balloons became fewer and we discovered new monsters. The creatures were called Loomushes. They were like mushrooms, but they hopped around and had narrow, squinting eyes.

Catching the living mushrooms were easy for me and Raphtalia cleaved them into pieces. There were white, blue, and green ones.

**Mush Shield: conditions met.**   
**Blue Mush Shield: conditions met.**   
**Green Mush Shield: conditions met.**

**Mush Shield**   
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Plant Appraisal 1**   
**Blue Mush Shield**   
**(ability locked)equip bonus: Compounding Recipe 1**   
**Green Mush Shield**   
**(ability locked)equip bonus: Apprenticeship Compounding**

"Oh?" All skills? I changed to the Blue Mush Shield and found various recipes appeared in the menu. "Amazing. Best unlock… this… first?" Raphtalia was staring at me with her mouth agape. "Is there a problem?"

"M-Master, just… just who are you?" Raphtalia stuttered out of her shock. "How did your shield transform? And you made multiples of yourself," She the shrunk back. "If… If that is alright for me… me to know?"

"Right," I sheepishly scratched my chin. "It probably is hard to hide it now, so best tell you now. I'm the Shield Hero."

"Shield… Hero," Raphtalia blinked, "As in the Four Cardinal Heroes?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Iruka-sensei is from my world and we ended up here together when I was summoned."

"Then… why did…" She looked down with flattening ears. "Surely there is… better people suited to help you."

"Probably, but I don't know who to trust. "I sighed with a shrug. "At least these crests help to ensure the enemy can't pose as one of my party."

"But… I'm… I'm scared of … blood." Raphtalia shrunk into herself. "I can… fight some enemies… But…"

"Then we will work with you on that," I let out a grin as I put both hands behind my head. "Truth is, blood makes me queasy. I still throw up when skinning rabbits."

"You… do?"

"Yep. But, gotta do it so we can eat." Raphtalia nodded to my words. "Let's continue hunting. If we come across an enemy that bleeds, we will save it for Iruka-sensei to kill and we will butcher it together to help you with your fear."

"Okay." Raphtalia gave me a small smile. After the talk, she attacked with more gusto. By the end of the day, we collected a lot of Mushes corpses and herbs from the forest.

"H-Help." I burst into laughter with finding my herb collecting clone covered in Balloons. "I stuck to the plains… But they kept on coming." My poor clone cried out.

"Okay!" Raphtalia chimed and dispatched the Balloons as the others arrived.

"We are having rabbit stew tonight!" Iruka-sensei grinned as he held up several fat, yet small looking rabbits.

"All we found was Eggups and Balloons." Kaus sighed as he held the loot out and covered his nose from the smell.

"We also ran into Eggups and found an interesting way to kill them." Mathew chimed as both my clone and he held what looked like large cracked eggs. "It seems they are edible, so Master wants to try cooking them."

"We can make ramen!" I chirped out as I had some dried noodles in my hip pouch for any occasion. I've been saving it for when the withdraws started to hit, but this was the perfect chance for ramen. "Let's get a fire going!"

We quickly put together a campfire and Iruka-sensei pulled out a cooking pot from his scroll.

"See. It's easier to… Augh.." I heaved as I took the guts out of one of the rabbits, Usapils as my status magic called them. Raphtalia wasn't looking much better as we prepped the Usapil meat.

"I got the mushes chopped!" My clone hummed as the pot got to a boil. We added in the ingredients and let it simmer together under the supervision of my clone with an egg shaped shield.

"Wow! Already level 8!" I gasped in amazement of my growth. Kaus grown to level 10, Matthew and Iruka-sensei were at level 7, and Raphtalia reached level 5.

"How did you outstripped me?" Iruka-sensei laughed as he took everyone's weapons and sharpened them. "That shield of yours is a cheat."

"If it was a cheat, I would be able to fight on my own!" I blew a raspberry at my sensei as everyone took turns washing up in the creek. My clones kept watch, so there was no worries about being attacked. "Ah, Iruka-sensei, do you have a medicine kit on you?"

"For making poisons and antidotes?" I nodded. "Sadly, no… But I do have a mortar and pestle if you need to crush some of the herbs for cooking."

"Not for cooking, " I held up Tate-chan as she turned from the blue mushroom shape to a green mushroom shape. "I got a new skill and wanted to try it out."

"Okay," Iruka-sensei pulled out the tools and handed them to me. I brought up an easy recipe now that I mastered the Blue Mush Shield. I went to work making a recipe that worked for mortar and pestle.

**Healing Medicine: fabricated**   
**Healing Medicine: quality bad to fair**   
**Effective when immediately applied to the surface of wounds.**

"Oh! This can be useful!" I gathered the creamy like liquid onto a leaf and folded it up into a package. I used a piece of burnt stick to writing the character "Heal" on it. I continued to experiment. Some resulted in the failure of a black pile of rubbish. I even tried some combinations I didn't have recipes for.

"Dinner time!" My clone called out and we gather around the pot. My mouth drooled from the savory aroma from the pot. The clone added the yolk and whites of the Eggups which cooked instantly into the hot pot of ramen. "Dig in!"

All of us got a bowl and I experimented with a bit after looking it a little cooling. "Delicious holy ramen!" I cried out in joy and slurped up the noodles.

"Amazing. I never known Eggups could be tasty." Kaus gasped as he slurped his soup.

"The Usapil isn't too gamy and it's so tender." Matthew hummed.

"It's delicious!" Raphtalia cheered out before coughing.

Oh, right. I reached for one of the packages I made and opened it up to where it formed a cup.

**Normal Medicine: quality: fair**   
**Effective on weak colds.**

"Here. This might help with that cough." Raphtalia took the cup and sipped it. Her face scrunched up and her ears and tails shot straight up.

"So bitter!" She spat out the medicine.

"Hey! Don't waste it!" I pushed the cup back to her. "Good medicine tastes bitter, no matter what."

"But… I don't…"

"I order you to drink it." At my order, she forced herself to gulp it down and took deep breaths once it was all down.

"Good job," I patted her on the head and I realized how fluffy her ears were. I looked at her tail and found Raphtalia furrowed her brows at me and her tail batted in frustration.

"Use your meal to get the taste out."

"Okay." She took to the soup with a rush…. Did my medicine really taste that bad?

Once we finished our dinner and put the leftover ramen away, I went back to my compounding. I let Tate-chan absorbed the poorer materials I made.

**Small Medicine Shield: conditions met.**   
**Small Poison Shield: conditions met.**

**Small Medicine Shield**   
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Potion Efficacy Up**   
**Small Poison Shield**   
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Poison Resistance Up**

Potion Efficacy? What an odd word. Maybe it was to help with crafting? Or did it give extra effects to medicine?

"Ack!" I jumped as alerts popped up on Tate-chan. I unlocked several abilities with… Wait, how did I mastered these shields when I only had…

"Oh, sorry, Naruto. I forgot the rumor that Shadow Clones' memories returned to the user." Iruka-sensei apologized. "I had your clones disperse."

"My clone's memories?" I asked and thinking about it… I could remember various things I've done with Matthew, Kaus, and Iruka-sensei! Even how my poor clone got ambushed by Balloons in the fields! "Amazing," I looked at Tate-chan. If I could use the clones, I could become strong in no time!

"Poor girl. Today must have been tiring," Matthew covered Raphtalia with a blanket as she drifted asleep. "However, you really are the Shield Hero…"

"Sorry if I'm not as you imagine." I laughed as I went back to work making medicine.

"No, no… I just never expected a child to be a hero." Matthew rubbed his defected arm. "I heard stories of the heroes since I was a child… To think in my darkest hour, I would meet a hero… The Shield Hero, no less."

"Tch. Some legends," Kaus clicked his tongue as he prepared a spot to sleep. "If the Shield Hero is a child, I don't want to know what the other heroes are like."

"Now, now, it can't be that-"

A shriek filled the air and we all tensed.

"No… No… Help!" Raphtalia trashed in her sleep. I quickly dropped what I was doing and rushed over to her. "No! Noooo!"

"Raphtalia! Calm down!"

"No! Daddy!… Mo…mmy!" She cried even with her eyes still shut closed. "They're dead! They're dead!"

"It's alright." I flinched as Iruka-sensei engulfed Raphtalia and I into a hug and rubbed Raphtalia's back. "Keep talking to her. She's having a fit."

Fits. I have seen some in the orphanage before I was old enough to live in an apartment. Something about how a bad thing tramized the person… It seemed Raphtalia's parents died right before her.

"Calm down, Raphtalia. We are here for you." I said before I heard growls. I looked around and found Balloons had been attracted to Raphtalia's crying.

"Take care of the pipsqueak." Kus grabbed his ax, "Get her to shut up as I like some sleep, too!" He rushed at the Balloons as well as Matthew pulled out his knife.

By the time Raphtalia calmed down, everyone was exhausted… And Raphtalia had me in her grip and wouldn't let me go. I slept in her arms and woke up with her looking at me in shock.

"You okay?" She quickly released me and recoiled away. "I take that as a yes." I chuckled before heading to the creek and fishing up our breakfast.

* * *

"Very impressive, if I say so myself." The old man who ran a pharmacy looked over my medicine and herbs I collected. "Are you well versed in making medicine, boy?"

"Only a little," I answered as I glanced at the tools behind the old man. "Yesterday was my first try at real recipes."

"Really?" The old man raised an eyebrow at me as he looked at the herbs. "And the quality of these herbs… You got good eyes on you, boy."

"Which is more profitable? Herbs or medicine?"

"Due to the Wave's impact, medicine has been flying off the shelves. So rather than the herbs, I'd pay more for your medicines."

"I see." I nodded. Finding those shields was such good fortune!

"In total, this haul of yours is 4 silvers."

"Hey, do you have any old tools you don't use?"

"Well, now you are talking, boy." The old man smirked at me and made a deal of selling me the tools and how to use them off the herb's value and gave me 3 silvers for the medicine.

"How it go?" Iruka-sensei asked as I carried the tools in a case made for them.

"Better than expected. I even got tools." I grinned as I looked at the others. They were watching a pair of children playing with a ball. Raphtalia looked yearningly at the ball. "You want a ball like that, Raphtalia?"

Raphtalia gasped and shook her head violently. "No! I don't! I never want a ball. Not at all." Her tail betrayed her as it wagged behind her.

Why would she lie?… Or, since the crest didn't active, was she lying to herself?

"Oh well, let's go to the monster merchant." We headed over to one and I saw the small balls Raphtalia was looking at sold here.

"Oh, quite a haul…. I price this at 120 silvers." Yes, a gold piece worth!

"Can we get a ball, too?" I pointed at the patchwork balls.

"Sure. I'll throw it in for free as you helped me restock on some of my most bought materials." I took the silver coins and put them away. I then grabbed the ball and handed it to Raphtalia.

"Huh? For… me?" She asked with her cheeks tinted pink.

"You can play with it once we get done hunting." I mean, I don't want to take away all her childhood.

"Of course!" She nodded with joy on her face.

We returned to the fields and hunted monsters. The Usapils were the focus as their furs were worth quite a bit. I had the others hold off on butchering the rabbit creatures so Raphtalia and I could work on our issue with blood.

"Alright. We got quite a haul," I grinned as I used my Usa Meat Shield for its Dissection Skill 1. The quality of the fur and other parts improved and should fetch for a good price. I was at level 11 and everyone else had gone above my level outside Raphtalia. She was at level 10.

"Feeling a bit better about blood?" My clone asked Raphtalia as he cooked.

"It's… still scary… But… I think I am.. getting used to it." She sighed before a cough made her drop her knife.

"Here. Take it." Raphtalia paled as I handed her the medicine, but she gulped it down quickly.

"That's a nasty cold." Iruka-sensei sighed as he kept sharpening the weapons. "Are you sure your medicine can help her?"

"I'll have to practice and improve it as we don't get much of a choice." Another clone answered as he compounded medicine. "I also made something called Nourishing Beverage. I think all three of you should drink it."

"Why waste your medicine on us?" Kaus said with his tail twitching in frustration. "You could sell those for a good price."

"But you guys all look skinny. You need some meat on your bones to be able to fight."

"You calling me weak?"

"I'm just saying I need you to be healthy." My clone threw a bottle at Kaus and the lizard man caught it. "How can you keep up a fight as skin and bones?"

Kaus clicked his tongue and drank the beverage down in one gulp. My clone gave Matthew and Raphtalia each a Nourishing Beverage.

"Thank you, Master," Matthew nodded before he took a sip and then gulped it down with a twisted face as Raphtalia did. "Your medicine… is very bitter."

"Trying to work on that, but I can only work with what I got." I sighed with a little disappointment.

"Hm… With our current levels and if I remember the terrain correctly… How about we head towards the village of Lute."

"Lute?" I asked as Raphtalia and I washed up from prepping the meat and furs for storage. I absorbed the guts and such so we didn't have to worry about attracting monsters.

"Yes. It's a small farming community near an old coal mine," Matthew answered with a bit of excitement. "I believe the price of an inn room with food is still around a silver."

"And the monsters and herbs?"

"There are Usapils and various beasts we can hunt. If we continue to hunt here, we won't get enough experience to level up."

Now that Matthew mentioned it…

**Naruto Uzumaki Lv. 11**   
**Raphtalia Lv 10**   
**Matthew Lv 12**   
**Kaus Lv 13**   
**Iruka Umino Lv 13**

Iruka-sensei, Kaus, and Matthew's growth had slowed down a bit? So were the monsters in this area only good to level up this far?

"The rabbit's right." Kaus let out a sigh. "Plus I heard that since the Wave struck, strong monsters have been making nests in various places. It would be best we don't get too content with one place."

"Gotcha," My clone did a thumbs up. "We'll head to Lute tomorrow. For now, dinner!"

The menu tonight was Usapil soup and grilled Usapil legs.

"It's so good!"

"Master, were you a chef in your world?"

Raphtalia and Matthew viciously ate their meals. Kaus took a bite and furrowed his brows. "Is there something the matter?" I asked and Kaus shook his head.

"Just thinking how much a naive fool you are… Boss." Kaus snorted and I pouted at him. Jeez. What was his deal?

"Ah, Matthew, can you start teaching Iruka-sensei and me the language here?"

"Sure. We can learn the magical language with it at the same time." Matthew said as he finished off his Usapil leg.

"Naruto, you better pay attention or else," Iruka-sensei gave me the evil eyes. He tapped his crest under his armor. "I'm willing to be tougher than before if it helps you any way possible."

"Y-Yes, sensei." I gulped and went pale at the thought of the coming training. "Don't you need to teach them how to properly fight?"

"Tomorrow as I want to get a few basic words down tonight."

"Understood." I nodded as Iruka-sensei shifted to storing the extra meat away in his scroll.

* * *

The next few days turned into a routine. We hunted monsters in the morning. Raphtalia even began to hunt the Usapils, though she still didn't do the blood too well. She was definitely better than me when I killed my first rabbit at the academy.

Afternoons were to training. Kaus was against it at first… Till a spar with Iruka-sensei showed Kaus just how much skill won over levels. The lizardman devoured Iruka-sensei's teachings with a burning will fit for a Konoha shinobi.

At night, it was studying. Matthew was… a bit creative with my lessons. He found just stuffing the content down my throat didn't work too well. Instead, he made flash cards and labeled various items, having me actively read as I identify the objects. It sure worked as I found myself slowly learning to read. Same for the magic language. We all studied off Matthew's notes as he deciphered the magic language.

It seemed you needed to use something called mana to use magic. Was that chakra?"

"Chakra?" Matthew asked as Iruka-sensei moved onto the most important thing to be a ninja. "Don't you mean mana?"

"Do not mana." Iruka-sensei spoke with an accent. "Chakra… combines… Naruto, say it combines physical and mental energies together." I parroted the last part as he struggled with the words.

"Combining mana with… physical?" Matthew asked before his eyes widen. "Don't you mean health power?"

"Maybe." I looked at my stats and couldn't tell. It was like I recovered this HP and MP really fast the instantly it is used.

"Yes," Iruka-sensei answered. "Too much… Die."

"Wait! Isn't that dangerous?" Raphtalia gasped out in horror.

"If one only overdoes it. Normally using chakra isn't dangerous." I relayed Iruka-sensei's words.

"But this chakra thing can be useful?" Iruka-sensei nodded and moved over to a tree. He put his hands together and I felt something at his feet. He then put his foot on the tree trunk… Along with the other as he walked straight up the tree.

"What in… I never have seen such magic?!"

"Okay. That can be handy." Kaus grinned while Matthew and Raphtalia looked at Iruka-sensei in awe.

"Naruto, you remember the basic chakra exercises?" Iruka-sensei asked from above.

"I think so." At least, some of them I remembered… Sort of.

"Make some clones and have them help the others with learning how to access their chakra." I nodded and made quite a few clones. "Some will join you in your chakra training."

"My chakra training?" I asked with my head cocked and found a kunai before my feet.

"You will focus your chakra to the soles of your feet and climb trees." Iruka-sensei tapped on the tree. "Use the kunai to mark your progress."

"Okay!" I took the kunai and put my hands together. I felt the chakra in my feet and then bolted to the tree. I got up four steps and - thank god for Tate-chan- fell flat on my back.

"Too little, Naruto." One of my clones yelled and we looked at him. His tree had a footprint broken into the bark. "That's too much. You have to get it just right for it to work."

"Why am I doing this?" I asked, "How will climbing trees help me save the world?"

"After seeing you do the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I realized your problem with normal clones: chakra control."

"Chakra control?" I asked.

"The ability to control your chakra and use it efficiently." Iruka-sensei jumped off the tree and came over to me. "The reason you failed at the normal clone jutsu and properly other subjects is due to your lack of control over your chakra. If I realized it sooner, I could have helped you on a lot of things."

"So… By climbing trees, I can get better at using my chakra?"

"Yes," Iruka-sensei smiled at my clones and I as we went straight to running up trees.

This went on for three days. It slowed our progress on hunting monsters, but my slaves were quick learners. Iruka-sensei even taught them their first jutsu: Rope Escape Jutsu.

However…

"I'll pay you four silvers." I furrowed my brows at the amount of money the traveling merchant gave me. We stored away most of our spoils to sell them back at the castle town. There was a limit to how much the traveling merchant could pay for our spoils.

Lute Village was a tiny village with no general store or pharmacy. Hence my medicines sold well, even at a lower price… But…

"I'm hungry," Raphtalia whimpered as she held her stomach.

"I know." I was hungry again even when we ate just an hour or so ago. Even our storage of meat and food had dried up. I passed a Nourishing Beverage to Raphtalia and gulped one down myself.

"Ah, you are demi-human adventurers?" The traveling merchant asked.

"Sort of… Is these some way around here that we can earn some fast coin?"

"Actually, you might want to see the governor." The traveling merchant brimmed up with a grin. "There's the old coal mine where some ore still remains… But since the Wave hit, strong monsters have made a nest in there. Along with mining some of that ore, the governor may pay for extermination of the monsters."

"Really?" I looked to Iruka-sensei." You got that?"

"Some of it. You want to go to this mine?"

"Yeah. I think we can handle it." I glanced at our levels.

**Naruto Uzumaki Lv 14**   
**Raphtalia Lv 16**   
**Matthew Lv 18**   
**Kaus Lv 20**   
**Iruka-sensei Lv 21**

I unlocked the Slave User Shield II and III after I absorbed some of Raphtalia's, Kaus's, and Matthew's hair when Iruka-sensei trimmed out the mats they had. It seemed to boosted everyone's level growth. Though, it did helped they got all the kill shots, which gave more experience points.

"Where is this governor?" The travelling merchant pointed out the governor's home.

"You want to take down the monsters in the mine?" The governor asked when we came up with our offer. "I am worried of those monsters coming down from the cave, but there isn't much I can offer you."

"It doesn't have to be money," I answered with a grin. "Several days worth of food would be enough for payment."

"Two of you are kids," I furrowed my brows at the governor. "You have yourself a deal." The governor held out his hand and I shook it.

"So, we are subjugating a mine?" Kaus asked as we trekked through the overgrowth towards the mines. "You should have demanded money for such a job."

"We are eating more than an Akimichi at an all-you-can-eat buffet." I sighed as I bit into a fruit I bought. "It seems Raphtalia and I hit our growth spurt."

"Of course, we demi-humans will grow with our levels if they go up when we are children," Matthew said as we reached the mine. A rest house was near the entrance.

"But… Why am I growing, too?" I rubbed my shoulder. The aches of growth covered my body. "I'm not a demi-human."

"But you aren't human either," Kaus snorted as Iruka-sensei picked the rusty lock. "Why else would you get a monster crest, Boss?"

"True." I sighed. Iruka-sensei opened the door and we found various pickaxes, ropes, and other supplies. Some were old and ratty, but still useable. This included a map of the mine. I absorbed the worse conditioned items into my shield.

**Pickax Shield: conditions met**   
**Rope Shield: conditions met**

**Pickax Shield**   
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Mining Skill 1**   
**Rope Shield**   
**(abilities locked) equip bonus: "Air Strike Shield" skill**   
**Equip Effect: rope**

"Equip Effect? Skill?" I opened the Help menu.

**Help**   
**Skill**   
**Can be activated at the cost of SP**   
**Can also be quick cast by shortening pronunciation or using crystals.**

I changed Tate-chan to the Rope Shield. It was… "A coil of rope?" I looked over it and the held it out. "Air Strike Shield!" As I shouted the command, an icon appeared to indicate the direction of the attack. A circle indicated the range appeared on the ground.

I focused on the ground before me. When I did, a large semi-transparent shield appeared there, hovering in the air.

I touched it and found it didn't move from the place I put it. I guess it was a skill to summon a shield. That could be handy. So would the Pickax Shield for mining.

"What was that, Master?" Raphtalia asked as the shield disappeared.

"A useful skill," I answered as I grabbed a pickax. "Let's go."

"Fireball Jutsu." Iruka-sensei lit up torches with a small flame from his mouth and we entered the mine. "Be… on guard." He said as the darkness encircled us.

The light of the torches showed the tunnel was supported by wooden beams… But those quickly disappeared as we got deeper into the mine and the walls were formed from natural stone. We could hear the soft sound of a distant waterfall and stream. As well as a soft light entered from the top of the cave when we reached a bigger area.

"Let's see." I checked the map. It seemed like it wasn't a maze, but I didn't know how old it was. There was an "X" to near the waterfall on it. "This way."

"This… is eerie," Matthew said as his ears flatten. "We should have seen at least a monster by now."

"Agreed. This is unnatural." Kaus gripped his ax tightly. "If people haven't been coming here, it should be a nest."

"M-Master," I turned to Raphtalia and found her trembling. I followed her gaze and saw footprints.

"A dog?" I asked as I kneeled down to the prints. I put my hand next to it and flinched at its size. "A big one, huh?" I moved my hand and noticed the ground worn by smaller prints… But they seemed old compared to the dog prints. "Kaus, you said there were powerful monsters appearing since the Wave?"

"Yeah. Slavers have been fighting them while trying to raid the territories affected by it with the Lord of those lands dead." Kaus chuckled, "Just our luck."

"Guess this will be our first big battle." I put the pickax onto my back where my backpack was. "We best find it first."

"But… Dog…" Raphtalia slapped her face before she took her katana. "I'm… scared, but… but I'll fight."

"This is my chance to shine," Matthew chuckled as he pulled out his wand.

"Be prepared, Naruto," Iruka-sensei unsheathed his katana and we carefully moved forward. We went up to the top of the waterfall and found it.

A jet black dog, but it had two heads. The dog was bigger than Iruka-sensei. And I could see its ribs starting to show in the faint light from above.

"It ate everything in here," Kaus nervously chuckled. "What's its level?

**Enemy**   
**Lv 15**

"It is 15." I answered as everyone got ready. I stood before everyone and got a better footing as it noticed us.

"Hawoooooo!" The dog let out a bellowing howl and it rushed at us. I caught the dog with my shield and struggled. It was so heavy.

It's thick nails scratched at Tate-chan and both heads snapped at me. I pushed all my weight into Tate-chan and pushed the beat back to jump away.

"Hah!" Kaus swung his axe, but the dog dodge. Matthew began to chant a spell when I noticed it. Raphtalia shook in fear and her eyes were locked at some random point in space.

A fit? Now?

"Noooooo!" Her shrill snapped Matthew's concentration and everyone looked at her. Even the two-headed dog even stopped and jumped back for a moment… Then it turned to Raphtalia and began to dash at her.

"No, you don't!" I held out my hand. "Air Strike Shield!" I stopped the dog's charge and rushed before Raphtalia. "Are you alright?!"

"No… Help," She stared right past me and the katana dropped from her hands. "No! No! Dad! Mom!"

"Raphtalia! Calm down!" I shouted before I took another attack from the dog with Tate-chan. One of its heads bit down on my shoulder and pain shot throughout my arm.

"Dad. No…" Raphtalia sobbed out.

"Raphtalia! Snap out of it!" I screamed as I wrenched my arm out and grabbed the rope of my shield. "If you don't, you might die!"

"Die?" She whimpered out as I had the rope loop around the head that bit me. The dog growled and tried to reel back, but I stood my ground thanks to sticking them to the stone with chakra.

"Attack it now!"

"Got it!" Kaus slammed his ax into the dog's back. It howled out and turned its rage on me with biting harder.

"Matthew, I cleared your conditions to attack me!" I barked out through the pain. "I order you to use magic!"

"R-Right!" Matthew raised his wand. "As the source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and burn thy enemies! Faust Fire Shot!" A ball of fire short from the stick and struck the dog in the back. It yelped in pain and I gritted my teeth from the heat of the flames.

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei got a strike in, but both Kaus and Iruka-sensei had to jump back as the free head lashed out at them.

"Focus on me, you mangy mutt!" I roared out and pushed my weight into the shield to pin the head to my shoulder.

"Faust Fire Shot!" More flames hit the dog and parts of my clothes charred.

"No! Master!… Not again!" Raphtalia cried out. "Don't leave me!" I glanced back and caught Raphtalia picking up her blade.

"Hiiiiii!" She charged up from behind me and stabbed the head I had pinned.

"Hawooooo!" The other head turned its sights on Raphtalia.

"Air Strike Shield!" I let go of the rope and a shield protected Raphtalia and me.

"Go in for the kill!" Kaus roared and slammed his ax right on the neck of the beast. Iruka-sensei stabbed the other neck… Yet, Raphtalia shot from under the Air Strike Shield and delivered the kill shot right into the dog's chest. It let out a dying howl as it collapsed to the ground.

**Exp +340**   
**Raphtalia Exp +430**   
**Matthew Exp +340**   
**Kaus Exp +340**   
**Iruka Umino Exp +340**

"We defeated it." I slumped to the ground and the sound of level ups hit my ears. "Good work every-ONE!" I yelped when Raphtalia hugged onto me tightly.

"Master… Don't die… Please… My… My place."

"Jeez. You did a good job," I rubbed her head as she buried her face into my chest. "What a time for a fit, but you got through it."

"I'm… sorry…. My village… My parents were… devoured by a three-head dog." Raphtalia confessed with shame in her voice.

"You were a victim of the First Wave?" Matthew gasped out.

"Mommy… Daddy.. They pushed me off a cliff and into the… ocean… to save me from… from…" She whimpered and I rubbed her back. No wonder she screamed at night if no one slept with her.

"I was lucky my village was spared by the Wave," Matthew sighed. "Then the raiders came in and captured any demi-human they could find with Lord Seatto dead."

"Well, at least the pipsqueak got over her fit," Kaus grumbled as he looked over the dog. "This beast just ain't normal."

"Yeah." I pulled out a bottle of Healing Medicine… Right, that odd skill of Potion Efficacy Up. I selected it and smeared the creamy liquid over my wounded shoulder. I gritted my teeth as the wound steamed from the cream and knitted itself back together.

"Okay. Now that was sick."

"How did…. No, you are the Shield Hero." Matthew chuckled as I moved my arm to find everything healed fine. "To turn medicine into a healing spell is quite impressive."

"That and your natural healing is high due to… what you are." Iruka-sensei flinched as he spoke. "I saw it time and time again at the academy."

"Guess I should only expect this kind of result on me." I sighed in defeat before Raphtalia and I locked eyes. "Hm? Is there something on my face?"

"Master… I don't think I know what your name is."

"Huh?… Hadn't I?" I blinked before I laughed. "Damn! For once I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Shield Hero and future Hokage of Konoha!"

"Na… ru… to?" Raphtalia's ears twitched before she smiled at me. "It's a pleasure to… meet you, Master Naruto."

"You too." I sighed, "Let's butcher the beast and mine."

"Okay!" I puffed several clones into existence and set them off to mine. It took us an hour to butcher the dog and I fed some of it to Tate-chan.

**Two-Headed Black Dog Shield conditions met**

**Two-Headed Black Dog SHield**   
**(abilities locked) equip bonus: Alert Shield**   
**Equip Effect: Dog Bite**

"Boss, look what we got!" The clones returned with a shining piece of ore.

"Light Metal?" I held one and saw one clone had a new shield.

"It has the best rating yet!" The clone with the square shield of metal chirped out. "Mining is so easy!"

"Great. Think you can find some more?"

"Yes, sir!" The clones ran back of and by the time we had everything sealed, the total of Light Metal Ore was to twenty pieces.

They sold for the wonderful price of 400 silvers.

Roughly 700 silvers we had… 800 more to go to pay off my benefactor. Not to mention I had no idea when the Wave will hit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. Onto the Wave, but first. Some thanks in order. Have a Little Feith helped me out and helped me edit it. Thanks Have a Little Feith and I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter.

"Dammit," I gritted my teeth as I yanked a needle out of my arm.

"Wait!"

"Dammit, this bugger is quick!"

I glanced up to see the grass moving about. Tate-chan absorbed the needle and a new shield popped up.

 **Animal Needle Shield Conditions met.**  
**(abilities locked) equip bonus: Attack +1**  
**Equip Effect: Needle Shield(Small)**

"Finally! An attack shield!" I quickly switched Tate-chan to a shield made of needles. It's defense rating was lower than the Ore Shields, but I take what I get.

"Master Naruto!" I turned and saw the creature known here as a Porcupine dashed towards me.

"Heh! Not again!" I held up my shield and it barreled right into it.

"Gaagh!" The shield fired off needles and stuck the creature. It backed off, giving Raphtalia the opening to stab it and end its life.

"No fair. You used Boss to get it to stop." Kaus walked out of the grasses and snarked at Raphtalia. "Next one is mine."

"Calm down, Kaus," Matthew chuckled as Kaus glared at him. "Master got to try out his new shield. Seems it is an attacking one."

"Wait, really?" Raphtalia looked at me in shock. "What's its defense rating?"

"Not the best, but handy." So it was a counter-attack type shield. Not a lot of damage, but perfect to pause the enemy. Bonus, I finally found the tree for attack stats. I just needed to unlock those shields conditions to finally get some attack power.

"Still, you have to be careful!" Raphtalia scolded me. "You got hurt just now with using a weak shield!"

"Yeah, yeah." I put Healing Medicine on my wound and gritted through the pain of it healing on the spot. "My job is to defend. I know. Just glad to have a shield that can dish out revenge."

"Naruto, do not push yourself." Iruka-sensei came up with several canteens and offered them to us. "Water?"

"Good. I was getting thirsty." Kaus laughed as he took a canteen. "What are we doing next, Sensei? Training?"

"Naruto, you may want to upgrade your armor," Iruka-sensei said as he saw the blood on my clothes.

"Yeah… This is probably as far as I can go with just leather armor." I looked at everyone's weapons. "Let's head back to castle town. I'll sharpen your weapons as we travel." I transformed the Animal Needle Shield into one that looked like a white stone. It had lots of slits of various sizes and shapes in it.

"That's a handy shield." I took Kaus, Raphtalia, and Iruka-sensei's weapons and put them in the slots. I felt the weight on my shoulder, but ignored it.

The Sharpening Shield was one of the useful shields I had unlocked in the almost two weeks after the battle in the mine. Iruka-sensei accidentally dropped his whetstone on Tate-chan and she gobbled it up, hence this shield.

However, I learned a lot during the past two weeks. I could break down monsters into materials for various purposes in my shield. It mainly leads to extra status boosts, but I took what I could get.

The governor in Lute was pleased to find the mine monster free. He had some of the men of the village work on turning the mine into a bunker for the coming Waves. We hunted all around Lute, sometimes even going to the swamplands nearby…. Hence our levels are:

 **Naruto Uzumaki Lv 24**  
**Raphtalia Lv 28**  
**Matthew Lv 27**  
**Kaus Lv 30**  
**Iruka Umino Lv 32**

Everyone was leaving me in the dust. Though it couldn't be helped. Instead of having my clones paired off with everyone, we've worked on fighting as a team.

I was the defender and bait, getting the monster's attention and keeping it. Kaus and Raphtalia were our main attackers… And Iruka-sensei took on vanguard to make sure Matthew was safe to cast spells. Our training paid off with Matthew, Kaus, and Raphtalia able to use the basic three jutsu. I learned to walk on water thanks to Iruka-sensei throwing me into the mine's water supply.

I never know when I will face an enemy on water, but I had the tactical advantage of clinging to different surfaces now.

"Wow! I hardly recognized you!" We walked into Uncle's shop and surprised the weaponsmith. "You all changed so much. Especially with the young lass turned into such a pretty little lady and my little Shield has grown into a man."

"Oh, come on… I hadn't grown that much." I laughed awkwardly before Kaus and Iruka-sensei stepped up. A lovely reminder that I now almost matched their heights whereas before I was at people's stomachs.

"I hadn't seen you all in a while. What have you been up too?"

"Iruka-sensei taught us table manners." Raphtalia chimed with a big smile. "I want to eat my food properly like Master Naruto."

"Hey, don't brag on us, Pipsqueak." Kaus snorted while looking away. "Chopsticks are damn hard to use. How the heroes use those damn things all the time is lost on me."

"But it is such an elegant way to eat." Raphtalia smiled back at Kaus.

"Heh. You really grown up," Uncle said with a smile. "Nothing like the little pipsqueak you used to be." Raphtalia puffed her cheeks as I looked over her. She had grown just as much as me but was a little short than me. She was no longer skin and bones, but a cute, young lady. I bet some of the girls back at the academy would be jealous of Raphtalia's charms.

"Well, we are in need of equipment." I focused back on Uncle. "Let's first focus on weapons."

"Excuse me!" Raphtalia pointed her finger at me. "Aren't we here to buy armor for you, Master Naruto?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I blinked at her. "We need better weapons for you all first, then-"

"I appreciate the thought Master Naruto, but it's time you protected yourself for once. You just got hurt in the plains or did you forget?"

"No. I remember," I sighed. "But you all need a wea-"

"Master Naruto, stop messing around with your life," Raphtalia turned and unsheathe a blade on the wall. She held it up with a dark look in her eyes. "Or you will die." A moment of silence followed before Raphtalia looked closer at the sword. "Boss, this sword looks really sharp!"

"Yep. That's magic iron. Want to give it a try?" Uncle asked.

"What kind of discount can you give us?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Miss. Anything for you."

"Thank you so much! While you're at it, can you show us some armor, too?" Raphtalia chimed out.

Jeez. Raphtalia hadn't just changed physically. She was a lot more outgoing and tougher than the coward she was weeks ago… And a lot ruder, too… I blame that her being around only guys the past few weeks. Our bad habits were rubbing off on her.

"The most we can pay is 180 silver," Raphtalia said and I jumped in.

"Wait a minute! Don't go deciding that on your own. We got to get armor for you three as well." As well as we still have the debt to pay off! We just reached 1000 silvers!

"You still need armor!" Raphtalia huffed.

"She got you there, Boss." Kaus laughed as I slumped in defeat.

"Well, then… I can't offer you a full suit of armor, but how about a few pieces of that?" Uncle pointed at a full suit of plate armor. It looks strong, but also bulky.

"It's… not my style." I weakly said.

"And it will… limit movement." Iruka-sensei added in.

"As well as take away all his individuality." Matthew chuckled out.

"Oh, hey, your pal can speak Melromarc now?" Uncle said in awe at Iruka-sensei. "Can you understand me?"

"Yes. Still rough… around the… edges." Iruka-sensei grinned at Uncle. "Do you… custom made?"

"Custom made, huh?" Uncle grinned back."Of course, I can whip up something custom order. If you got the supplies, I can have it done by tomorrow."

"Please! Please do!" Raphtalia took Uncle's hand and begged him.

"Alright, this is what I need." Uncle wrote down on a piece of paper and I looked at it.

"Bronze, Iron, Usapil Skins, Porcupine skins, and Pikyu Pikyu feathers?" I said aloud. "Awesome. We have everything." Iruka-sensei pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the counter.

"What? Another royal-" Uncle jumped when Iruka-sensei unsealed the skins and feathers. "Now hold on! How did you do that?!"

"It's a storage scroll from my world." I answered, "It uses a seal to store away items." Which Iruka-sensei unsealed some bronze and iron bars from. We got those as payment for gathering some coal from the mines when Lute's blacksmith said his order of the stuff was late.

"Now, I never thought sealing magic could be used like that," Uncle said in awe.

"Not magic, jutsu." I laughed sheepishly. Even with Matthew's amazing teaching skills, both Iruka-sensei and I still haven't figured out how to cast magic. Both Kaus and Raphtalia started to pick up on magic even if it wasn't battle ready yet.

"Other worlds are amazing, then." Uncle chuckled and looked over everyone. "Well, how about a deal for upgrading everyone weapons to magic iron, getting the three Demis leather armor, and the custom made Barbarian Armor for 400 silvers?" I flinched at the hit. "I'll even throw in the Blood Clean coating on all them for free."

"Blood Clean?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It repels blood so it keeps the blade sharper for longer," Kaus answered for me. "A handy thing if we can't use your shield right away to sharpen our weapons."

"Fine," I opened my purse strings and handed Uncle the 400 silver coins. Down to 600 silvers.

You had to pay money to make money and I didn't know when the Wave would strike. Better to splurge now than to regret it later.

Speaking of splurging… My stomach growled and we decided to eat out for once. We quickly found the restaurant we went to before.

"Welcome!" The waitress greeted us and seemed oddly not caring that there were Demi-humans with us. She lead us to a booth and even gave us menus.

"I'll take… cheapest meal set." Iruka-sensei ordered with Kaus and Matthew parroting the same order.

"Raphtalia and I will have the kid special set." I drooled at remember that dish.

"Master Naruto! We aren't children anymore!" Raphtalia slammed her hands on the table in frustration. Her tail twitched back and forth. "We'll all get the cheapest lunch sets!"

"O-Okay." The waitress said with confusion. "That will be 15 coppers." I paid the lady and she walked off.

"Why didn't you want us to eat the kid's meal?" I whimpered at the beloved meal gone. "Wasn't it tasty?"

"Yes, but we can't have it anymore. It's weird for adults to order a kid's meal." Raphtalia puffed out her cheeks. "When will you realize you and I aren't children anymore?"

"But I'm twelve and you're ten." Raphtalia blushed and glared at me. "Sure, our bodies have grown faster than normal, but we can't change our actual age."

"Boss, only you would think that." Kaus chuckled as Raphtalia looked ready to yell at me some more. "But, that's what I like about you, Boss. At least you are upfront with these kinds of things."

"What does that mean?" I huffed out just as our meals arrived. It seemed to be some kind of bacon with some leafy vegetables and fruit, with a soup on the side.

"Enjoy your meal." The waitress chimed before she left.

"Thanks for the meal." We all put our hands together for a little prayer before we pulled out our chopsticks. I took a piece of bacon and plopped it into my mouth.

"Oh!" I hummed. It was actually fish! And flavored with a slight sweetness to it. I tried the leafy green to find it the perfect savory flavor to match the sweet fish. The soup… It was wholesome and a bit like red bean soup, only less sweet and more bitter? But not too bitter to be bad. It was really good!

"Hm… Not bad."

"Master's cooking is better."

"Eh? Whatcha mean?" I looked at everyone and saw their faces were… unimpressed. "This is delicious."

"Naruto, you're cooking… has improved drastically." Iruka-sensei spoke in his natural tongue. "You could probably open your own food stall and have it be a booming business."

"Eh? But… I'm a Shielder." Shielder was what my class technically was if I wasn't the Shield Hero. "My job isn't to cook, it's to defend."

"With how you do all the cooking and chores, I have to disagree." Kaus got nods of agreement from everyone else. "You're more a parent than a Shielder."

"Parent?!" I recoiled, "But how am I supposed to let my friends starve when you all fight for me!"

"See. Parent." Kaus ruffled my hair. "Boss, just see it as a compliment. Your food is amazing, Chef."

"But… I'm not a cook or a parent!" I cried out in frustration.

* * *

My eyebrows twitched as I looked over my body. The armor I wore was aggressive and wild. The sleeve holes were lined with fluffy fur, no doubt from the Usapils, and the chest was formed from a heavy looking plate of metal. The parts that were not covered in metal plating were lined with Porcupine skin.

I could see why it was called Barbarian Armor… But…

"Doesn't this make me look like a typical villain?" I moved the green mantle I had, and no matter how I looked at myself…. I looked like some kind of scoundrel.

"So cool!" Raphtalia uttered out with her eyes sparkling. "It's really perfect! You look amazing, Master Naruto!"

"Amazingly, it fits you well, Boss." Kaus grinned while I saw Matthew nodded in agreement. Iruka-sensei… He facepalmed himself and looked ready to laugh.

"You rock it, kid. You look like a real bandit!" Uncle chimed as he gave me a thumbs up.

"I'm supposed to be a hero, you know," I complained.

"It looks dashing!" Raphtalia hummed out.

"Jeez... You did make it for me," I groaned out, "It would be a shame not to wear it." My sigh was drowned out by a lizard's growl. We looked through the alleyway to see a crowd had gathered. Knights - as I learned the plate armor men were called - rode through the streets on huge lizards.

"Everyone is on edge." Matthew sighed as we watched the knights ride off.

"Sure. The Wave is nearly here." I answered, remembering back to the Masked Lady's words. "If only I know when and where it was going to begin, I could make a plan."

"I can't believe it." Uncle looked at me with shock. "Yah mean no one told you about the clock?" We all looked at Uncle in confusion. "You know that church you can see from town square? There's a huge hourglass inside. When the last grain of sand inside it falls, the heroes and their parties will be sent to wherever the Wave hits. At least that's what I hear."

"Alright. Guess it's time I paid that place a visit." I sighed out and gave Uncle my thanks before we headed to the church, whatever that was. I guessed it was the building visible from most of the town and we headed to it. As we got closer, the building seemed to grow higher and higher. It was a large building with people coming and going as they pleased.

There were women dressed in white and they shot us dubious looks. Guess demi-humans weren't welcomed here.

"May I be of assistance?" One of the ladies walked up to us. She then saw Tate-chan and her eyes widen. "You wouldn't be-"

"I heard that time was coming up, so I came to see it myself."

"Well then, follow me." She turned around and lead us deeper into the church. In the center of the church was a giant hourglass covered in detailed decorations that lent to the whole holy, mystic feel…

Just the sight of it made me on edge. As if my instinctual side pulsed through my body. The sand was… red. Blood red and made me sick looking at it.

"So this is the clock." I stepped forward and stairs popped up. I climbed them and gasped when Tate-chan glowed. She shot a beam of light to the hourglass and it glowed. A timer appeared at the top of my vision.

**00:20:12:47**

The 47 turned to 46 and kept going down with the clicks of the hourglass.

"It's really counting down to the Waves," I said before I felt several presences behind us.

"Huh? Who's that?" I turned around and came face to face with the Spear Hero. He was dressed better than before. His armor was fancy with crimson clothes underneath. He even had chainmail where there were breaks in the armor. "Some adventurer's here for a class-up?"

"Class-up?" That was a new term to me. Well, best not waste our time. The Spear Hero was here to check the clock, too, no?

My group and I walked down the stairs and gave room to the Spear Hero and his party.

"Wait… A shield?" The red hair swordswoman of the group snickered. "Aren't you the Shield Hero?"

"Wait, this guy in flimsy equipment?" The Spear Hero gasped out as he looked over me. "The hell? I thought you would be all decked out with having a running start or ran to the hills as a coward."

"Do you know these people, Master Naruto?" Raphtalia asked in shock.

"Sadly, no," I said before seeing two more groups walked in. One was lead by a swordsman in dark armor and the other lead by a noble-looking archer.

"Ren! Itsuki! Perfect timing!" I glared at the Spear Hero as he put his arm around my shoulder. "Look who the cat dragged in. The Shield Hero finally made an appearance."

"Are you sure, Motoyasu?" The archer asked as both the swordsman and he looked over me. "That guy doesn't look like a hero… Heck, he doesn't even look Japanese."

"What have you being doing all this time if you look like that?" The swordsman asked. "Robbing people?"

"Geez. This is the first time I meet ya and I want to punch ya." I growled back as I realized the swordsman was the Sword Hero and the archer was the Bow Hero. "I only ran as I was in the middle of a battle when I ended up in that room."

"Battle… So you died, too?" The Bow Hero asked and I raised an eyebrow.

I… died? No… I turned to Iruka-sensei and felt my lips went dry. He was the one who protected me from the huge shuriken.

"Huh?" The Spear Hero let me go and turned to Raphtalia. He took her hands and smiled at her. "Hi there, Gorgeous. I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero. Won't you save the world with me?"

"You're… a hero?" Raphtalia flinched back some.

"Why are you praising a demi-human, Lord Motoyasu?" The red hair swordswoman snorted in disgust.

"A girl adorable as you shouldn't have to wield a sword. Allow me to protect you," There were freaking sparkles around the Spear Hero. Worse, he hits on a ten-year-old girl? Gross.

Raphtalia pulled her hand away from the Spear Hero's grip. "No, thank you. I fight by Master Naruto's side."

"Master… Naruto?" The Spear Hero looked at me in. dazed. "Your name is… is… a ramen topping!" The Spear Hero snorted into laughter.

"What's wrong with that? Ramen is awesome!" I felt my anger rose as I looked at the Spear Hero.

"Sorry…. But to think the weakest hero also has a weak name." The Spear Hero smirked at me. "Guess you will be doing all you can to protect yourself while I save the world!"

"Whatcha mean? Don't we got to work together to save the world?" I gritted my teeth. Seemed he didn't just ruffle my feathers. The Sword and Bow Hero grimace at the Spear Hero.

"I expect Itsuki and Ren to fight with me. You? How can you fight any kind of boss with just a shield!"

"You really know how to push buttons, kid."

"What do-Eek." The Spear Hero looked at Kaus, finding the lizard man popping his knuckles. He has gotten broader with muscle and looked quite fierce as he grinned at the Spear Hero.

"Boss might be only able to defend and do household duties, but he does both with superb precision. We take care of the fighting for Boss." Matthew, Raphtalia, and Iruka-sensei nodded in agreement.

"He has you fighting for him?" The Spear Hero gasped at them. "He should be the one fighting, not a sweet lady like yourself."

"Watch it. This sweet lady is strong with a sword." Matthew laughed as he held Raphtalia back. She seemed ready to draw her sword. "Can't we all just get along?"

"Let's go," I turned to the exit.

"See you at the Wave, Shield Hero." The Bow Hero said as I passed by the Sword Hero and him.

"Don't get in our way." The Sword Hero snorted and I gritted my teeth as my party and I left the church. We went to a cheap inn and I set up my equipment. I needed to make as much healing medicine as I could.

"Master Naruto… Did something happen between you and the other Heroes?" Raphtalia asked as the sky turned dark. She must have finished her exercises with Iruka-sensei.

"More I don't know what their problem is." I sighed as I ground herbs. "Iruka-sensei and I ran the moment we ended up in this world. We trusted our guts and I guess we made the mistake of leaving the other heroes behind." I stopped for a second and looked at Tate-chan.

Did the King brainwash the three heroes to see me as the weakest? Or was that just how everyone saw me after I ran away?

"Is that… why Iruka-sensei and you also have crests, Master Naruto?" Raphtalia asked with a strained smile.

"Sort of… We were betrayed before we came to this world." I gritted my teeth at the thought of Mizuki. The scroll was on my back, hidden by my mantle. "My life may be ruined when I returned home… But I want to at least give the others a chance."

"Your life ruined?" Raphtalia gasped and stood up. "What on the Shield could you have done to do that?"

"More… I was too naive and blinded by my wants to prevent it." Iruka-sensei and I planned for me to return the Forbidden Scroll when we returned to Konoha. Iruka-sensei would vouch for my innocence, but I would likely still be punished. Quite severely, since I stole a treasure of the village.

"But… You aren't a criminal."

"But I am!" I shouted as I gripped my knees.

I was the Nine-Tailed Fox. The fact I have grown into an adult by levels proved that. People would be demanding my head for my crimes…. Especially since I stole the scroll with the seal components to my seal. Iruka-sensei and I vowed together not to touch the seal, no matter what once we found it on my stomach.

If…. I couldn't become a ninja anymore… I might try to at least repay my sins by becoming a healer. Tate-chan has helped me a lot with improving my compounding skills… Even if my medicines were still very bitter.

"I… I… I'll go to bed." Raphtalia gave up and laid out onto the bed we were sharing tonight. It was my turn to sleep next to her. Even if Raphtalia had gotten better with her fits, we were still careful to prevent a fit in the inns.

"I'll be there in a second." I made a Shadow Clone and set back to work making medicine. My clone and I took turns sleeping and compounding till early morning.

"Each of the scrolls contains Healing Medicine." I handed each of my group a small storage scroll Iruka-sensei made. Iruka-sensei began to teach me seals and all five of us can use basic storage seals now.

We grouped together outside the inn and found people all around preparing weapons and talking battle plans. Many seemed to be so-called Adventurers I heard of.

"So… This is it." Matthew sighed as he adjusted his armor. A small mantle on his shoulders hid his defected arm. "We are… really going to face the Wave."

"Yep. To think just weeks ago I was rotting away in a cage." Kaus chuckled as he smiled at me. "I guess… thanks is in order, Boss."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I turned to my three slaves. "All I did was bought you three." And that meant they probably wanted to be free and rid of me as soon as possible.

"And you gave us food and purpose." Matthew ruffled my hair. "I thought I was going to die a terrible death, yet you saved me."

"I… killed a guy who tried to have his way with a lady back in my country." I looked at Kaus in shock. "I was sold into slavery instead of killed as the bastard's friends wanted me to suffer… Yet, you came along and showed me trust and there are still good men around. I would rather follow you, Boss, than be the man I used to be."

"What?" I blinked before Raphtalia took a step forward.

"Well, I… I am truly grateful and honored to have met you." Raphtalia bowed to me. "My… first two owners only wanted me for a job but returned me due to my fits. My last owner…"

"Loved his torture." I sighed, remembering what Beloukas said.

"You cured my illness, gave me delicious meals, and even taught me how to live." Raphtalia stood tall and put her hand on her chest. "You gave me a reason to keep living. To fight the Waves and stop other children from suffering as I did." The sun began to rise and I looked at Raphtalia with utter awe.

"I swear to be your sword forever!" She looked at me with serious eyes. "Wherever you go, I'll be there with you!"

"Really?" I felt my eyes tearing up. A warmth filled my chest that I never known was possible.

"Yeah. Same here." Kaus grabbed Matthew and pulled him behind Raphtalia. "We will follow you wherever this twisted world leads us, Boss."

"Indeed. You gave us the power to fight, now we will use it to serve you." Matthew smiled at me.

"And I will also be there," I turned to Iruka-sensei and he grinned at me. "Especially when they finally put that hat on your head and call you Hokage. I'll survive to see that day and help it become true."

"Everyone…!" I sniffled and quickly wiped the coming tears.

They trusted me… Even Iruka-sensei.

"I won't let you guys down," I pumped my fist. "I'll be the best Shield Hero in history and then I will become Hokage. Just wait and see!"

"Gotcha," Iruka-sensei said before a bell tolled out and the sky became blood red. We all glowed before our surroundings shifted from stone streets to the forest. "Where are we?" Iruka-sensei said as we braced ourselves.

Raphtalia gasped and we followed her gaze upwards.

"There it is." Whirlpools of light filled the sky and moved throughout it. "The Wave of Catastrophe. Just as the book described it." Waves of monsters spilled out of the vortexes and towards the ground.

Footsteps snapped us out of our shock and we saw the other three Heroes and their parties running in the direction of the Wave.

"Guess we best hurry and join-"

"Look over there!" Raphtalia pointed and I shifted my gaze. "The village of Lute!"

"Oh-no. There's no way they had time to evacuate to the bunkers." I hissed out and my eyes widened at the sound of a thunk. A flare streaked across the sky and a seethed in anger. The castle might be not far, but-

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I made several clones. "You got to the Heroes and help them out. Rest of you, we are heading to Lute!"

"Right!" We dashed through the trees and quickly made it to Lute just as the monsters began to wreak havoc.

"Aaagh!" A man covered his head as a zombie swung its sword down at him. I caught the sword with my Light Metal Shield and Raphtalia sliced off the zombie's head.

"Sir? Are you alright?" The man wheezed, but I saw no wounds on him.

"Raphtalia, everyone, focus on evacuating the village. My clones and I will get the monsters' attention and draw them away."

"Right," My clones and I rushed in various directions. We needed to get these monsters out of here and quick!

"Stay back!"

"Damn. So many!" I found a few of the villagers with pitchforks and tools defending themselves. I dashed right up at the zombies attacking them.

"One of the Heroes!"

"The Shield Hero is here! He will save us!"

I let loose a war cry and punched one of the zombies with the Animal Needle Shield. I heard a clang at the failure of damage but succeeded in drawing its attention.

"Listen up, everyone!" I roared out as I held my shield up. "I'll keep these monsters busy. So you all get out while you can!" I bashed more zombies as I ran and they slowly began to follow me.

"Oh no! Help!"

The traveling merchant! A zombie had gotten him cornered.

"Air Strike Shield!" A shield appeared before the merchant and blocked the zombie's attack. I jumped up and leaped off the zombie's head to get its attention. "Run! Get out of here!"

"Mommy!"

"I'll protect you!"

Giant wasps shot towards a mother covering her children. "Shield Prison!" A prison of shields surrounded the mother and children, blocking the wasps' attacks. They turned to me and followed as I ran.

I skidded under a burning beam and grabbed a stick lit by flames before I leaped back into the fray. I used the smoke to keep the wasps and locusts back.

"Hey! Zombie! Keep up the pace!" I waved the torch around and ran as the zombies slowly followed. Yet, their numbers kept on increasing.

I needed to minimize the damage, but how could I? There were so many monsters!

"Boss! Everyone!" I looked up to one of the guard towers and saw one of my clones up there. He waved a lit lantern and rung the bell.

"Go me!" I ran towards the tower. "Air Strike Shield!" A shield appeared above the zombies already attracted by the bell and I leaped onto it. I jumped onto the tower's beam and ran up to the top. Other clones did the same.

"Come on zombie! Come and get us!"

"We taste better than those adventurers!"

We all made the loudest ruckus we could and watched as the zombies gathered at the base of the tower.

"Dammit. It shows no sign of stopping," I looked to the sky. "What are the other heroes doing?" I gritted my teeth as the tower shook. The zombies began to climb the tower in droves.

"Boss, here," I took the lit lantern and popped the top of it off. The clones unsealed some cooking oil we had for frying foods. We poured the fuel onto the zombies and all over the tower.

"Alright. It's about to get seriously hot." I took my makeshift torch and lit the oil. The tower lit instantly and we all abandoned the top of the burning tower.

I turned Tate-chan into the Rope Shield and latched the rope to a beam of one of the destroyed buildings and swung right into its debris. "That… Could have gone better." I coughed and saw my other clones used Air Strike Shield or the Rope Shield to better success than me. "Tch. Is it bad when you are jealous of oneself?"

We watched as the flaming tower fell and the monsters in its flames howled as they burnt to death.

"Is that it?" I asked only to see more zombies and monsters appeared in the streets. "Of course not!"

"Sir Hero!" I blinked and found some of the village men ran up to me.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" I got out of the debris.

"We all changed our minds," One of the villagers spoke. "We came back after we saw how courageous you are fighting. Lute is our home and all we have. We just can't run away and abandon it." The villager looked me right in the eyes. "We decided to fight with you!"

"Good choice. All clones! Help us form a circle formation!" I roared out and jumped before the villagers and blocked an attack. "You all attack and fall back. My clones and I will protect you!"

"Yes, sir!" We all quickly fell into a loose formation. The villagers' pitchforks and spears didn't do much damage but after a few strikes… A zombie or wasp would fall. My clones and I protected the villagers from any counters. The Animal Needle Shield was especially useful as it made the enemies pause after they attacked and gave the villagers a perfect chance to strike.

"They just keep on coming?"

"Where are the other heroes?"

"Don't know and don't care!" I roared as I blocked a zombie that had a sickle. "Stop yapping and focus on surviving!"

"Right." We continued our formation until a huge zombie appeared. I jumped before one of the villagers and held up my Light Metal Shield, but the attack knocked both of us into a tree.

"Dammit," The zombie staggered over to us and one of the villagers stabbed it with a pitchfork.

"Die monster!" The villager stabbed it again and the zombie turned onto the villagers.

"No, you don't!" I jumped up and caught its ax blade with my shield. I gritted my teeth from the weight.

"You guys fall back!" I shouted, "You can't deal with this one!"

"Sir Hero!"

"Forget it! Think about your families. There is no reason to die here!"

"Boss!"

"Master Naruto!"

"Perfect timing!" I shouted as Raphtalia and Kaus ran up. "Deal with this thing!" I pushed the giant back and slammed my shield into its face. Raphtalia sliced right through the zombie's neck while Kaus caved in its skull with his ax.

"Amazing," The villagers gazed at us in awe.

"We'll handle things here. Please evacuate." Matthew spoke, but the villagers shook their heads. "Why-Oh."

"Damn. Surrounded." I put my hands together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I made more clone and we got back into a circle formation. "Raphtalia, Kaus, Iruka-sensei, pair up with a clone and focus on the giants. Matthew, cast water spells as we got enough fires!"

"Right!" Matthew chanted as we went on the attack. "Faust Aqua Shot!" A ball of water flown right past my head and put a hole right through a zombie… Yet, as we took down one enemy, two more replaced the ones we defeated.

"Dammit. Is there no end to them?" I growled out before we heard what sounded like fireworks firing off. Various flares shot up and formed an orb above us.

"That's… magic!"

"Watch out!"

"Protect everyone!" I grabbed a villager and covered him with my cape and Tate-chan. The clones were doing the same to everyone else just as the orb exploded and rain down fireballs everywhere. Everything around us lit up into flames including the zombies and bug monsters.

A burst of laughter barked over the flames and my eyes landed on the knights. "We burned them to death in a single strike." The group of knights came across us. "What the? Shields? One of these people is the Shield Hero?"

"Bastard!" I jumped up and snarled at the knights. "What the hell were you thinking launching that attack!"

"And you survived. Ain't you pretty tough?" The leader of the group snarked before one of my clones yelped. Raphtalia charged straight at the leader knight and her sword was parried by another knight with a scar on his nose.

"Didn't you know the villagers, us, and Master Naruto were here?" Raphtalia gritted her teeth. "Answer me or I'll have your heads!"

"Villagers?" The scarred nose knight asked and went wide-eyed with seeing the villagers stand up as my clones uncovered them. "Draw your swords." He ordered the other knights and Raphtalia leaped back.

"What's this?" The leader knight barked out, "Are you with the Shield Hero?"

"I am Master Naruto's sword," Raphtalia growled out. "At least my Master has the guts to protect the villagers. Respect him or die!"

"Damn demi-human," The leader knight snarled. "How dare you raise your blade to the royal knights?"

"What kind of knights attack the people they are meant to defend?" Raphtalia roared, but I rushed past her. "Master Naruto!"

"You want to fight-Whoa!" I pushed the scarred nosed and leader knights out of the way to block an attack from a giant zombie. "What the...?"

"Get your men into formation!" I gritted out as Iruka-sensei slashed the zombie's head clean off. "Join the villagers and fight or else you die!" I took on the enemies' attacks as Iruka-sensei slashed up the enemies. I blocked, Iruka-sensei took down an enemy. My clones did the same with Raphtalia and Kaus to keep the enemies at bay.

"Let the Shield handle this," The leader knight shouted out. "We'll offer reinforcement to the three heroes!"

"Bastards!" I roared as I blocked a giant and Raphtalia pincer attacked it with Iruka-sensei. "Are you really going to leave the villagers here to defend themselves?"

A pulse came from deep inside me. A deep feeling I never felt before flooded into me.

How? How could these men and women be so selfish and abandon their own?

"Fine! I'll keep on protecting them!" I snarled and pushed back a zombie. "We'll protect the villagers on our own!" My clones cheered as the villagers retook their tools and rejoined the fight.

"Phalanx Formation!" I glanced back and saw the scarred nose knight barked out and the knights gathered before him. "Support the Shield Hero!"

"Phalanx Formation!" The knights raised their shields before the scarred nose knight and raised their swords.

"Into battle!" They unleashed war cries and joined into the fight.

"Glad to see not all of you are spineless!" I laughed, seeing the knights join us. "Let's turn the tide and destroy the beasts!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Master Naruto!" I turned to Raphtalia and focused up to the sky. The vortexes slowed and in a loud eruption, they disappeared. The sky turned back to blue.

"There's still monsters! Clear them out!"

"Yes, sir!" We focused our attacks back on the monsters and, for once, the numbers began to decline.

* * *

"It… It hurts."

"It's okay. Let me heal your wound." I pulled out some of my Healing Medicine and activated the Potion Efficacy Up skill. The adventurer hissed as I smeared the cream on a slash on his arm. The wound steamed and knitted up.

"What… What the? It's healed?" The adventurer looked at his arm and moved his hand. "My hand… I can move it."

"Take it easy and rest." I turned to a man with his leg torn up. "This is nasty… Hold on."

Thankfully, the Inn survived the Wave pretty well. We ended up using it as a makeshift hospital. I took a bottle of sake and popped it open.

"Hold your tongue. This will sting."

"Go ahead. Do it." The man screamed as I poured the alcohol over the wound and then put the cream on it. The wound stitched itself back together, but it took more cream to seal the wound.

"Shield Hero, this man is gravely injured!" I turned to find several villagers as they brought a man with a wound in his stomach.

"Got it," I went to the newcomer and brought the sake. I flinched at the sight of the man's abdomen sliced open, but it seemed his organs avoided the worse of the attack. I took a rag and cleaned the wound before I used the cream on his organs before sealing the wound.

"Amazing…" The villagers gasped as the man gasped in pain even as the wound healed up. "It's magic."

"Nooo!" I turned and found a woman crying over an injured man. I rushed over and found the man not breathing. What was it again to revive someone in this state?

I put my mouth to the man's and blew hard before I put my palms to his chest and did chest compressions. I repeated and the man gasped for air. I looked for his injuries and grimace.

Internal injuries? How can I heal those? Maybe-

I poured the wine into a glass and shoveled the cream into the glass. I shook the glass with my hand over the top.

 **Healing Beverage fabricated.**  
**Healing Beverage: quality: bad to fair**

Success, though it probably be better if I used water.

"Hurry. Drink this." I forced the ailing man to drink my concoction. He glowed as my Potion Efficacy Up improved the healing effects of the medicine.

"T-Thank you." The woman next to the man sobbed. "I thought… I thought he died."

"Don't thank me yet." I left half the Healing Beverage to the lady. "Make sure he drinks that when he wakes up.

"Yes, sir." The woman bowed her head. "Thank you, Sir Hero."

"Any other severe wounds?"

"Over here!" I jumped over and found a man with his arm gone. "We can't stop the bleeding!"

"I can't restore it, but…" I cleaned the stump with sake and smeared the cream on it… And then felt the burning in my stomach. It shot straight to my hand.

"Aaagh!" An orange glow engulfed my hand and the cream bubbled.

"Hey!" I grabbed my hand, yet saw bone and muscle began to grow back. "What the…" I pulled onto the burning feeling and put both hands on the wound.

"It hurts! It hurts!" The man trashed as his arm regrown and he collapsed out cold from the pain.

"I…can do that?" I gasped at my glowing hands before the orange aura disappeared.

"Seems a successful experiment," My eyes widen as I heard the gravelly voice. "Use my chakra to heal. It's all I can do thanks to that stupid piece of metal on your arm."

"They are not experiments," I growled out before hearing more pleas for aid and saw several people with lost limbs looked at me with hope.

"You die, I die. I'm only looking out for our own hides. Feel free to use this… healing however you like."

"Damn bastard." I rushed over to the people and pulled the burning feeling to my hands.

"Master Naruto?" Raphtalia asked as I finished healing people and tried to catch my breath. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… Just… tired." I checked my status and found my HP and MP were getting low. I guess borrowing my old self's power cost some of my own chakra.

"You're drinking at a time like this?!" Raphtalia asked in horror as I mixed more sake with Healing Medicine.

"It's medicine," I said and raised the glass to my lips. "Gagh," Sooo bitter. I gulped it down as fast as I could and squirmed as my body burned with warmth. I checked my status and my HP went up dramatically. No… It shot past the max and said I had extra of it. "The hell?… No." That damn bastard of my past. This must be his doing.

"Sir Shield Hero."

"Huh?" I looked up and found the governor with some of the villagers. The governor bowed to me.

"We thank you very much." The governor raised his head. "Please take our gratitude. There was no way we could have survived without your strength and courage."

"You're welcome, but your villagers also deserve thanks." I smiled at the governor. "They defended their homes beside me. So I can't take all the credit."

"No." I blinked and saw the man that got tossed into the tree with me spoke up. "If you hadn't been here, we would never have been able to push those monsters back on our own."

"We will never forget what you have done for us."

"I see… Thank you." I bowed to hide the tears forming in my eyes. "I'm glad I was able to save as many people as I could."

"Ah, take this," One of the villagers held out a crystal ball. "The magic is spent from it, but you can use it as materials for equipment."

"Thank you," I took the crystal orb and the villagers disperse from the hospital area of the inn.

"They were truly grateful," Raphtalia said as the other came over after treating those with minor wounds.

"Yeah. I… have never been thanked like that before." I looked at the crystal ball and fed it into Tate-chan. It unlocked a shield off the Light Metal Shield.

 **Crystal Orb Shield conditions met**  
**Crystal Orb Shield**  
**abilities locked equip bonus: Magic Power +3**  
**Equip Effect: Scrying, Magic Defense(small)**

"Scrying?" Was that like what the Old Man's crystal ball technique was like? I changed my shield and it looked like a small table top with odd symbols carved into it around a crystal ball mounted in the center.

"A crystal ball?" Iruka-sensei asked.

"Yeah. I wonder." I built up chakra into my hand and placed it on the orb. I remember the feeling of the Old Man and hoped I was doing it right. "Crystal Ball Jutsu." The ball glowed as my chakra infused with the ball. I saw the "Scrying" effect kick in and a clear image of the Old Man Hokage appeared in the ball.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka-sensei gasped as we saw several others with him. "The Konoha Council, Homura-sama and Koharu-sama." The elderly man and woman sat before the Hokage in a meeting room.

"Hiruzen-sama, it's been a month." What? There was sound too?! I refocused when the image static for a second at my lack of concentration.

"There is no sign of either Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto." Homura said with a strict tone. "i know the credibility of that teacher's testimony is questionable… But we have no proof to prove him wrong either."

"And we can't let the fox be unleashed by the boy." Koharu snorted. "A month is plenty of time for the boy to misuse the Forbidden Scroll. The same goes for this Umino Iruka."

"Hmm." The Old Man Hokage grimace as he rested his chin on his hand.

"The boy stole an S-rank scroll and you still want to forgive him?" Koharu growled out. "Did you think raising that… weapon like a normal human would make it easier to control?"

"Koharu is right," Homura sighed. "And we have no idea what this Umino Iruka have done to the… boy. They could be working together to plot Konoha's demise right now."

"What?!" Raphtalia gasped and covered her mouth. Was there sound and a translation effect?

"They need to be labeled as criminals and put into the bingo book." Homura continued. "It won't be long before the other villages realized our Human Sacrifice has gone rogue. It would be better if we take care of him by our own hands than by foreigners."

"At least then, we have a chance to recover the scroll and the fox." Koharu then sighed, "Or, at least, destroy both before they fall into the wrong hands."

"As much as I hate to admit it," The Old Man Hokage's face twisted in pain and sorrow. "I agree. However, they will be put as captured alive if possible. Killing Naruto-kun will kill the fox... But the fox it immortal. It will just revive after a few years. That and I want to know the truth of what happened from them."

"You're too soft." Koharu clicked her tongue.

"They will be labeled as Rank B Missing-nin." That surprised both elders. "We will send out ANBU to hunt them down. If it looks like they cannot be brought back alive…"

"That's more like it." Homura's words echoed as the image disappeared.

"What's a missing-nin?" Kaus asked as my legs began to shake. "Boss, are you alright?"

"No… Missing-nin are… criminals." All three looked at Iruka-sensei as he gritted his teeth. "Mizuki lied… He must have… Blame me for getting… Naruto to steal… scroll."

"But you can just tell them the truth once you get back, right?" Raphtalia asked as I collapsed to my knees. "Master Naruto!"

"I… don't know how long it will take to return to Konoha." I whispered in horror. "The longer one is a missing-nin…"

"The higher the chance… of kill on site… order." Iruka-sensei finished. "And those… who hate Naruto… for the past… will likely kill us… instead of obeying… current order."

"But… That's too cruel." Matthew put his hand on my shoulder. "It's not your faults that you were summoned."

"But it is… my fault for stealing the Forbidden Scroll." Tears dripped down my face as I got into dogeza. "I'm so sorry, Iruka-sensei. Because of me… Because of me…"

I ruined not just my life, but yours too, Iruka-sensei.

"I ruined everyone's lives." I sobbed out. There would be no way Konoha would accept Raphtalia, Kaus, and Matthew if Iruka-sensei and I were missing-nin. All the promises I made… They were just hollow shells I couldn't keep.

Hokage?… Ha. I'm the Fox. And a criminal. No one in Konoha would have the screwed up head to even mention me as a candidate.

I guessed I did make it to being a ninja since I was now a missing-nin… But I had no headband to even show it.

"Why?… Why?" Why was I chosen to be a hero? The moment they send us home at the end of the Waves, I was- "If… we can return home." My eyes widened as the terrible truth hit me worst than the giant zombies.

"Naruto, what-"

"They… What if they can't send us back home?" I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. "What if they never planned for us to leave."

The fire magic that they used against us. Was it the King's orders for the knights to mess up and disguise my death by saying I died in the Wave?

"Naruto… Naruto! Snap out of it!" Iruka-sensei barked out. "Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! Those bastards tried to assassinate me and take innocent people down in the process!" I punched Iruka-sensei in the face and screamed out as the crest on my chest activated.

The pain was nothing like the seething fury within my body. I loathed myself. I destroyed everything and now the few people I cared about was in danger's way because of me?

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" I creamed through the pain as I slammed my fist into Iruka-sensei's chest as he held me. The clangs of my ineffective attacks I barely heard over the zaps of the crest.

"I'm such… I'm such a fool."

"No, you aren't, Master!"

"Yeah! You saved us, Boss!"

"I failed you all." I sobbed as I stopped my punches and gripped onto Iruka-sensei's shoulder. "How… can you ever forgive me for my broken promises?"

Something inside me snapped. I didn't know what but I felt so many emotions. Betrayal. Hatred. Anger. Disgust…

I felt filthy. I felt so filthy.

"Boss! Boss!" I didn't look up to my own voice.

"Ah, the-What happened to you?!"

"Dammit. Forget me. Let me talk to Boss!"

"How are you still existing without an arm?!" Now that got my attention. My head shot up and I saw my clone all bloody and with an arm missing.

"What… the hell?" I asked but quickly pulled out Healing Medicine. "Let me see your arm."

"Don't worry about it." My clone roared in anger. "I'm just gonna disperse anyways. Save the medicine for the injured.

"I don't care." I forced the clone to sit still as I treated its wound. To my surprise. the Potion Efficacy actually made my clone's arm grow back.

"Damn! That hurts!" My clone hissed as he held his arm. "But, Boss, I'm so mad!"

"What happened? How you lose your arm?" I demanded and my clone bit his thumb out of frustration.

"Those stupid heroes! Easy? A piece of cake?" The clone barked out a laugh. "Those fools couldn't work together to save their own lives! Even when I did my job, they just kept spamming skills and magic at random!"

"What?" I gasped as the clone gritted his teeth.

"I even got a few good blows in with my shield… Yet when I tried to pin it, they would attack! One time taking my arm in the process! All while their parties just acted as back-up and magic support!"

"Are you saying… they are just… civilians?" Iruka-sensei asked with a bit of horror in his voice.

"Worse than civvies! They have no combat ability whatsoever outside swinging their weapons randomly!"

"Shield Hero! Shield Hero!"

The three heroes rushed into the inn with their parties and the knights. All three heroes were winded and pale. "Why the hell did you run? You needed to be-" The Spear Hero blinked at my clone and me. "There's two Shield Heros!"

"Twins? They look just alike," The Bow Hero said in shock. Then he looked at my clone's arm. "You had a magician heal your arm? Why didn't you just let one of our party do it?"

"Indeed… It was… our fault you lost it." The Sword Hero looked away with a little pain in his face.

"Yeah, right it was! What if that was one of you?" All three flinched at my clone's scolding. "Do me a favor and get someone to train you!" My clone snarled as he stood up. "How the hell are you three still alive with such crappy taijutsu!" My clones eyes turned red with silts and yelped in pain as his Tate-chan shocked him and they popped out of existence.

Memories of the battle against a hybrid monster of a goat, snake, lion, and lizard hit me… It was horrible. There was no teamwork. No wonder it took them so long to defeat the creature…. And when the creature was defeated, the Wave of Catastrophe ended, too.

"What happened to your twin?"

"He disappeared?"

"You really call yourselves heroes?" I bit out and clenched my fists. "Did you even think once of the noncombatants when you shot that flare up? That may be the knights wouldn't make it in time?"

"Huh?" All three backed up at my fury. "But we had to defeat the boss to end the Wave. If we went for all the small fry, it would take too long and cost lives!" The Spear Hero said.

"Excuses." I spat out before I loosened my grip. I was no better than these three fools. I put everyone in harm's way due to my inability to attack. As well as destroying our future in the… old world.

"It's the knights' job to handle the civilians." The leader knight spoke up. "And you seemed to handle it-"

"Shut up, you bastard!" I hissed and turned my back on the group. "Is there anyone still in pain?"

"Huh? What?"

"I am… I think my bone is fractured." A man answered as he held up his hand.

"Me too… My side is killing me."

"Master Naruto," I mixed more Healing Beverage and began to heal even the superficial injuries. "Master Naruto! You're pushing yourself too hard!"

"Yes! Take a break!" Matthew tried to pull me off one patient. "Especially after the bad news!"

"Don't care." I felt hollow and bitter darkness filled that hollowness. "It was my mistake to leave the heroes back at the castle. A mistake I can never take back now."

"Hey, what does that mean?"

"Isn't this just like a game you played?"

"Ga… me?" I asked as I stopped.

"Yeah. We all played games based off this world." The Spear Hero chimed. "So we know everything including how to face the Waves."

"I… only read a book."

"What?! No way!" The Spear Hero gasped, "Maybe it's due to you being the Shield Hero. Shielders sucked in-Ow!"

"Stop," The Bow Hero jabbed the Spear Hero in the ribs with his bow. "He said he was on a battlefield… Maybe he thought he was in enemy territory and that's why he ran…"

"That's just an excuse for the coward he is." The Spear Hero snorted.

"Indeed, Spear Hero," The leader knight added. "His party and he should have fought with you. He didn't do much in protecting this village, anyways."

"As if!"

"You were the one that used Covenant Magic on the village!" The villagers who weren't seriously injured ganged up around us.

"Sir Shield Hero not only protected us, but he also healed our wounded!"

"Where the hell were you when the monsters attacked?"

"Leave the Shield Hero alone!" A little girl stomped her foot and pointed at the heroes and knights. "He saved us! Not you!"

"What the?"

"But we defeated the boss?" The Spear Hero asked in a confusion that was matched by the other two heroes.

"Ignore them." The leader knight scoffed. "his highness has rewards for each one of you. Let's return to the castle. There should be a feast in your honor."

"You heard that, Shield Hero? You didn't get reward money last time. Are you going to skip-"

"Leave me alone." I focused back on my patients. "We only won a battle. Not the war."

"Well, aren't you a sour puss." I sighed at them… And got ambushed by someone restraining me from behind. "Come on. A party should lift your spirits."

"Dammit! Let me go!"

"I actually agree with Motoyasu-san." The Bow Hero smiled at me. "You deserve your rewards as well."

"I'll take the legs." The Sword Hero quickly grabbed hold of my legs.

"The hell?" Why couldn't I break free? I was the King of Escaping back in Konoha! "Hel-"

"Sorry, Naruto… But I think this is for your own good." Iruka-sensei said as my slaves snickered at me. I was carried halfway to the castle where I gave up and walked the rest of the way with a jagged glare aimed at my comrades.


	6. Chapter 6

Music played and tables filled to the brim with food were scattered about a huge grand hall. A regal man wearing gems and a purple mantle held up a glass at the upper level of the hall.

"Thanks to our heroes, the battle was splendidly won. And tonight we celebrate." The regal man yelled out. "Enjoy yourselves to the fullest!"

Cheers came from everyone throughout the room… Except for me. I hid in the shadows and took a seat at a window.

"Weren't the heroes fantastic?"

"Our country has nothing to worry about."

Are all these people of nobility? Their clothing was all flashy and seemed what would be formal of this world.

"And the latest reports say there were very few casualties." I heard some people talking and caught the leader knight lying through his teeth about facing off a monster around the ladies.

"Keep blowing hot air," I sighed as I stared out the window. I bought up the Help Menu and searched through it.

**Help**   
**Persons or objects can be registered to allow them to be teleported with you when summoned by the hourglass.**

"Dammit." I could have teleported more people with me? Did the others know about it and just didn't bother to register the knights?

Just thinking about it pissed me off… And made me feel worse.

"Boss, you are usually the life of the party."

"Huh?" I looked up and found Kaus sat right next to me. "Oh… Just… I don't feel like eating." I felt sick to my stomach.

"Tch. It ain't as good as your cooking, but it is tasty." Kaus said as he took a bite out of what looked to be a rib. "Come on, try it."

"… Fine," I took one of the ribs and bit into it. My eyes widened and my stomach betrayed me. "Dammit." I tore into the meat furiously.

"Ah, there you are, Master." Matthew walked up with Iruka-sensei and Raphtalia. "Are you alright?"

"No… I want to leave." I didn't like the glances these nobles gave towards us. They were probably talking about the rumors about me.

"At least stay around for the reward," Iruka-sensei sighed as we all sat together. "Here. I made you a plate for you."

"Thanks." I took it begrudgingly.

Though, Iruka-sensei kept glancing around. I know the feeling as it felt everyone was watching us. Add in that we were in enemy territory, it made me wonder which of these nobles was the king.

"How can you… still be happy at a time like this?" I was not liking being paranoid as shit. It just made my stomach knot up more.

"We survived our first Wave together." Matthew chimed out. "Of course we are going to celebrate."

"Yes. Even if… we can't return to your world… We can find a new life here." Raphtalia chimed with a smile. "You gave us a purpose and we will help you find one as well."

"But…" I crushed a piece of bread in my grip. "I put everyone in harm's way due to my actions." And if not for Tate-chan and my clones… We could have all died because of it.

"And we… will stand by you," Iruka-sensei stood up and ruffled my hair. "That's one… promise we can… all keep."

"Indeed." Matthew nodded as did the others.

"Guys… Thanks," I sighed as I put my plate on my lap. "And sorry. Things may get rougher from here on out."

"What do you mean?" Raphtalia asked before she gasped when I caught a glove thrown at me. I looked at the thrower and found the Spear Hero glared me down.

"Naruto, Shield Hero, time to fight." The Spear Hero demanded. Everyone went silent and looked towards us. "I heard you made poor Raphtalia your slave and she obeys your every command." The Spear Hero said with venom.

"And why do you care?" I really didn't want to deal with any of the other heroes at this moment.

"Watch your tone," I raised an eyebrow at the Spear Hero.

"Raphtalia is my slave. Why are you worked up about it?" I said with a little disbelief. Why was the Spear Hero so wound up? Wasn't slavery a normal thing here?

"You listen up! You can't be saying it is okay to enslave others!" The Spear Hero clenched his fists as he spoke to me.

"Do you even hear yourself?" I mean, I don't like enslaving people… But… "Slavery is legal here. Or have you not paid attention in town to all the slaves used for everyday work." I saw demi-humans and beastmen doing various jobs from moving stuff to tending to their masters' needs in this crazy place.

"But we are heroes in this world. We shouldn't behave that way and you know it!"

"You have a right to your opinion." I snorted, "But I disagree." I got up from the window seal and put my plate on it.

"Let's do this!" The Spear Hero pointed his spear at me. "And if I win, you'll let Raphtalia free."

"I refuse," I pushed his spear out of the way and looked him right in the eyes. "Do you even know how things work in this country? Or are you so focused on your past world to not care about the rules here?"

"Bastard! How can you be so cruel to enslave an innocent girl?!" The Spear Hero shouted as I walked away from him.

"Master Naruto!" My party followed and I could hear the whispers burning through the halls. Damn hypocrites. I bet most of these nobles owned slaves.

We walked down the stairs when a knight with a spear stopped me.

"It has been brought to my attention that you, a hero, have been using a demi-human as your slave to fight for you." I looked up at the regal man and flinched at the hot hatred in his eyes. "You violated our customs and that is unrepentable. I order you, accept the challenge!"

"The hell? No." I yanked down my mantle and the regal man actually gasped out at me. "I know your customs quite well. Why the hell are you so focused on dueling over a demi-human when you all hate them so much?" I hissed out.

"You fiend," The regal man gritted his teeth before he glanced to the side.

"Hey! They don't need to fight!" Raphtalia shouted in frustration. "I'm with Master Naruto of my own free-"

"Agh!" Ouch. A knight landed hard on the floor below. Iruka-sensei dusted his hands while he glared at the men.

"Iruka-sensei! Thank you!" Raphtalia said in relief before her ears flattened. "Oh no."

"Draw your swords!" The knights surrounded us and I clicked my tongue.

"You poor thing. You've been placed under a curse that forces you to support this coward." The regal man said in a painfully fake tone of sympathy. "Heed my order or I will take her by force."

"Master Naruto," Raphtalia looked at me with fearful eyes.

"We will fight in your stead, Boss," Kaus growled and the knights shifted uncomfortably at the lizard man. "As if I let you bastards lay a hand on the pipsqueak."

"I agree. If you want a fight, then one of us will gladly fight you." Matthew added as the Spear Hero came up.

"The hell. You're defending him even after he enslaved a poor girl?" The Spear Hero said in shock.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but almost every demi-human in this country is a slave." Matthew sighed as the Spear Hero's eyes widened. "Master saved us from miserable deaths inside cages. So, of course, we will fight for him."

"That and why the hell would you want to fight your fellow hero, kid?" Kaus snorted, "Aren't you heroes supposed to be allies?"

"What the-You're all slaves?!" The Spear Hero shouted recoiled back. "Why the hell are you defending that coward? No, scum!"

"It's due to the curses placed on them." The regal man said before he snapped his fingers.

"Shadows?!" Several Shadows appeared out of nowhere and restrained Kaus, Matthew, and Raphtalia. Iruka-sensei leaped out of the way and landed on one of the pillars. "Cheater! Why the hell do-"

"Aagh!" I turned to Iruka-sensei and found him knocked out by a Shadow.

"Heh. There's no way you can run away from this, you coward."

"You're a scumbag!" I roared out and the Spear Hero recoiled from my fury. "I will win and you will return my party to me!" A burst of laughter caught my attention and I looked past the Spear Hero.

"And how exactly will you win without them, Shield Hero?" The red hair swordswoman snickered and the people around me laughed.

Dammit. No one expects me to win…

Too bad for them.

I have a horrible habit of breaking expectations.

* * *

"The duel between the Spear Hero and Shield Hero shall now begin." I glanced at the swords within the room.

"Why… do they have an arena in a castle?" I sighed out at how tight space was. It was worse than that time I accidentally got locked in one of the academy's storage closets. Thankfully, no one asked me why that happened and I rather kept it that way.

Damn ghosts.

"The duel will end only when one of the combatants is either pinned or admits that he is defeated."

I flinched as the door opened and light spilled into the dark room. I walked out and found a huge dirt lot before me. Spectators sat on seats that lined the openings in the walls surrounding the lot.

"This duel will take place in the presence of King Melromarc and the Pope. Hence it is legitimate and official."

"Jeez. All this for one fight?" I whispered as the Spear Hero waved at spectators as he walked towards me. I looked to the regal man - King Melromarc - and saw my party tied up behind him. "Dammit. Why the hell are these people doing this to me?"

Then again, I did rain on the king's parade with running from the summoning. Probably this was my punishment for that.

"Sir Motoyasu!" I heard a cheer and saw the red-hair swordswoman near one of the walls. "Best of luck!"

Great. I will have to be watching my back if one of his teammates was on the battlefield.

"Remember the folktale about the irresistible spear and the immovable shield?" The Spear Hero - Motoyasu - asked with a spin of his spear and got into…

The hell?

I guessed it was a fighting position. It was worse than the first year academy students trying to do taijutsu for the first time.

"Naruto, be a man and admit defeat," Motoyasu said in a smug tone.

"No. I never heard such a folktale. Nor shall I just give up," I sighed as I lifted up Tate-chan and changed her to the Light Metal Shield. I adjusted my stance and focused chakra to my soles.

Motoyasu changed his spear from its plain form into a nasty looking spear to be on the wrong side of. It was cool and such but looked silly to me in Motoyasu's untrained grip.

"Begin!" The announcer shouted and Motoyasu rushed right at me with a war cry. He leaped into the air and slammed his spear into Tate-chan. He unleashed more strikes, but I easily blocked them.

"Not too bad. I guess the Shield Hero has some moves."

"Heh! You got that right," I grinned back at Motoyasu and unleashed a punch of chakra to my feet.

"What the?!" Motoyasu lost his balance as I shot straight in the air. I put my hands together in my favorite position. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Five clones popped into existence and we landed on the ground a ways from Motoyasu.

"You can make clones of yourself?!" Motoyasu gritted his teeth. "Cheater!"

"This is a combat technique, so it ain't cheating." One clone laughed.

"Think you still can wipe the floor with me?" I taunted as Motoyasu narrowed his eyes at me. He turned his spear.

A skill?

We all rushed forward as he turned his spear again and it glowed. Motoyasu gripped the spear and charged forward. "Chaos Spear!" He unleashed a barrage of strikes. We all gritted through it and surrounded him. Blood dripped from my shoulder where one of the strikes got me.

"He is actually going to strike with the shield?" The red hair swordswoman giggled as we changed our shields.

"What can you do to me?" Motoyasu laughed as he struck out to one of my clones. And got an armful of spikes from the Animal Needle Shield. "Ow! What the-" He grazed my Two Head Black Dog Shield and the heads came to life and bit down on his shoulder hard.

"The hell!" Motoyasu spun his spear around to force us back only to get needles and dog bites in return. "Bastard! Fight fair and square!" We all leaped back and he narrowed his eyes down onto one of us. "You're the real one!" Motoyasu charged and his spear was deflected and needles pierced his body.

"Sorry. But Boss is behind you." Motoyasu's eyes widened and turned just in time for me to slam my Two-Headed Black Dog Shield into his back.

Cool! The effect activated and one of the heads even bit Motoyasu in the ear.

"Got you!" Motoyasu snarled as he swung his spear at me.

"Air Strike Shield!" My clone protected me as I leaped back away from Motoyasu. Wait a second… I wonder.

"Kick him!" I shouted at the closest clone and he dropped down with a sweep kick at Motoyasu. Motoyasu jumped but found himself knocked down when another clone punched him with his shield. A useless clang sound came from the attack, but it did land Motoyasu on his back.

"Air Strike Shield!" I shouted and a shield appeared over Motoyasu.

"What the… Get this off!" Motoyasu shouted as he struggled to get up. I grinned at the new use for Air Strike Shield.

I just won.

"It can't be…"

"At this rate… The Shield Hero might win."

No. I have won. The rules stated pinning the opponent was how to win. I glanced up at King Melromarc, but he looked away from the fight.

That damn bastard. Guess I will have to win this the hard way.

"Dammit!" The Air Strike Shield timed out and Motoyasu got back to his feet. "Tempest Spear!" A whirlwind formed around the spear and he shot it straight at me.

"Shield Prison!"

"Air Strike Shield!"

A prison made of shields and chains engulfed me and I almost lost my footing when the cage rocked from the impact of the spear. I heard cracking, so that attack must have broken my clone's Air Strike Shield.

Wait… It moved so…

"What the hell?!" I ran in the prison straight at Motoyasu. I could sense him strongly and tried to roll him over… Dammit. Well, at least he had evasion skills. I had to give him that. "That is not fair!"

"Whoever said fighting was a fair game?" I blocked Motoyasu's spear with the Light Metal Shield when the prison disappeared and leaped back. "Where I was taught to fight, anything goes."

"You really are a scummy bastard." Motoyasu wheezed as my clones and I surrounded him again.

"Does that lowly Shield Hero think he can win against the Spear Hero?"

"Have you any respect for the sanctity of this duel!"

Hecklers? Damn hypocrites. Didn't this world have magic? How could using clones be against the rules? It wasn't like I was using monsters as my weapons… An idea that had crossed my mind several times this past month with how clingy Balloons were if I wasn't careful.

"Still, you're at the disadvantage, Motoyasu." I grinned as I looked over the panting hero. "I've been trained to fight and known for my stamina. Do you think you can keep up with me for the rest of the night?"

"Of course! I will free Raphtalia!" Motoyasu roared as he rushed at me. "Stop beating around the bush and fight me!"

"I am, you mor-" My eyes widened and I ducked.

"Gagh!" Something hit Motoyasu in the stomach and he coughed from the hard hit.

Wow. I didn't think I had to quite literally watched my back. I glanced back to see the red hair swordswoman gnawing at her nail in frustration with her other hand out.

"Cheap… shot!"

"From your own teammate," I corrected as I blocked Motoyasu's attack. "I can't use magic… Yet."

"Then how do you make clones?!"

"Jutsu." I leaped back and my clones and I put our hands together. "Like this one! Harem Jutsu!"

"What?" Motoyasu gasped as we all poof into smoke and…

"Oh, Motoyasu-sama!"

"What a strong boy you are!"

"What… What?" Transformed as naked ladies, we clung onto Motoyasu… And in his moment of shock, we all used the Two-Headed Black Dog Shield. "Owch!"

"You really had that one coming," I snickered, remembering Motoyasu's female-only party.

"That's it! Let's end this once and for all!" Motoyasu roared as the head of his spear glowed red. I felt power building up in the spear and switched to my Light Metal Shield.

"Air Strike Shield!"

"Shield Prison!"

My clones formed several barriers between Motoyasu and me. Motoyasu's spearhead turned to lightning as he raised it up to the sky.

"Lightning Spear!"

"Substitution Jutsu!"

"What the-?!" I gasped as I found myself up next to King Melromarc and his attendants. The knights trained their spears on me when I heard the crack of lightning and the sound of metal breaking and ripping apart.

"Why the hell-No." I saw one of the four seats behind the king empty. I jumped right out of the pavilion. "Dammit! Dammit! FUCK!"

"You dodged it?!" Motoyasu gasped as I rushed into the smoke created by his skill destroying my clones and their skills. "You won't dodge a second-"

"Kaus! You fucking bastard!"

"Huh?" Motoyasu paused as I screamed and yanked out my scroll. I unsealed all my healing medicine and began to apply it all over the large hole in Kaus's gut. I could see the ground if not for the blood.

"S-Sorry, Boss," Kaus grunted as my hands glowed orange. "But… I couldn't bare… to see you… die."

"Idiot! My defenses were high enough!" Fuck it! Potion Efficacy! Work your stuff!

"You're a… terrible liar," Kaus grinned at me. "Stop it… I… don't think your medicine… can save me."

"But I can save you! You better not fucking die on me!" I pushed more of the chakra into my hands and the organs and such began to reform. "Promise me you won't die!"

"M-Medic!" Motoyasu shouted. "Get a healer!" He ran up to me and stood there. "I… I did this?"

"Of course you fucking did!" I grabbed more healing medicine and slathered more to Kaus's insides. "Why Kaus? Why the hell did you substitute for me?"

"Heh. Because I trust you… to save this… damn world, Boss." Kaus hacked and blood dribbled down his chin. "Thanks for… all the… yummy food… you gave me… I wished I could have… eaten your cooking… one last time."

"And I will cook you up something special, so don't you dare talk-" My hands stopped glowing. "The hell?!" I looked at my status and saw my MP was at zero. "I've.. run out of chakra?!"

Was the only reason I wasn't dead was due to my HP still being up thanks to the Healing Beverage?

"Dammit! Where's that healer!" Motoyasu screamed, yet no one came down. "Can't you see we have an injured guy down here?"

"Kaus?" The lizardman went silent with his eyes wide opened. The amount of blood he had lost… "Come on Kaus… Wake up!" Tears formed in my eyes as I felt for his heartbeat. "Dammit Kaus! Wake the fuck up!" I screamed at top of my lungs before I tried to revive him with blowing into his mouth and doing chest compressions.

But… I known it was useless. The organs and tissues had stopped reforming. Medicine had no effect on the dead. I still kept at it for a few minutes before I couldn't breathe anymore.

"No… Kaus…" I choke out and pulled Kaus into a hug. "Why? Why did you do this? I was the one supposed to protect you, not the fucking other way around!"

"I… killed a man?" Motoyasu whispered as he took a step back. "Wait… How did he get-"

"Hmph! To think the Shield Hero would use one of his slaves as a shield!" King Melromarc roared over the crowd. "I rule Sir Motoyasu as the winner of the duel as the Shield Hero cheated!"

"You… used him?" Motoyasu gritted his teeth and pointed his spear at my head. "You scum! How could you treat a precious life as disposable?!"

I hugged onto Kaus even tighter.

Of course, they would think I used him as a meat shield. They never saw a Substitution Jutsu before.

Kaus… I'm so sorry.

Why? Why did you give your life to protect this mangy human formed fox?

"I knew you would win, Sir Motoyasu." The red hair swordswoman clung onto Motoyasu.

"But… at the cost of a life," Motoyasu growled out. "Damn bastard. You will pay for this trickery!"

Trickery?… Oh, right. I was the fox, so of course, everyone believes I tricked everyone. Couldn't they just all shut up and leave me alone to mourn.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I felt my fangs become sharper in my mouth.

Someone walked up to me as I buried my face into Kaus's chest. "Too bad, Shield Hero. You must be so upset about your loss." That damn woman! "It really is a shame that you'll have to fight all by yourself." The swordswoman's laughter made me grit my teeth.

Bitch. How dare you laugh above Kaus's body?!

"Your fighting was brilliant, Master Motoyasu." King Melromarc chimed as he greeted Motoyasu.

"Sir."

"Now I know why my daughter, Malty, chooses to believe so much in you."

The swordswoman chuckled. "You see, Papa."

I gasped and looked at the trio.

"I got to say, it was a total shock to find out Myne was the King's daughter."

"I am." The princess hummed out, "But I fight to contribute to the world's peace."

The bitch princess! How could I forgot about the only warning I had from the book!

No… This whole duel was a setup. Maybe even the feast was a trap. That's why no one expected me to win. It was rigged from the very start!

"Why?" The word creaked out of my throat.

Why did they hate me so much to want me to fail? At least the villagers of Konoha had very good reasons to hate me… Yet, I've only been in this world for a month and this King Melromarc already showed nothing but contempt towards me with blocking the borders and now this!

I didn't choose to come to this world. They summoned me. They wanted it.

So why were they doing this just to me?

"Because humans are stupid, narrow-minded apes." My past self snorted at me. "To think history would repeat itself with you."

"History… repeating itself?" I whispered out as my grip tightened on Kaus's body.

This all happened before to my past self? Was it the reason I attacked Konoha?

"The people enslaved by the cowardly Shield Hero has been given their freedom by the triumphant Spear Hero."

So… That was what they were after? Just like how the Fourth Hokage became a legend with defeating me, the mighty fox.

The mighty Spear Hero defeated a lowly criminal to free those the criminal enslaved. It would be passed down generation to generation as for how the Spear Hero stood far above the strength of evil.

And that evil… it was me once more.

"Our country doesn't need the Shield."

"Execute the Shield Hero right away for his misdeeds!"

This.. was worse than the villagers. I could feel the heated glares and words aimed at me. Was this… what those who were deemed "evil" felt?

"You better leave before they attack you." My old self advised, but its voice seemed so far away now.

"It's about time we set this poor girl and the other two free." I heard Malty's voice and looked up. They had Iruka-sensei, Matthew, and Raphtalia lined up before me a ways. Several robed men came up to them.

"Begin," King Melromarc ordered and all three of their chests were exposed. "With now looking at one of them.. One of you is a human slave… Deplorable." King Melromarc snarled as the robed men pulled out white bottles and poured the contents over their chests. The crests glowed before disappearing off their chests. Their names faded off my status to nothing.

Their slave pacts were terminated.

"There, you are free now. Be grateful for Sir Motoyasu's kindness." All three of them were untied and…

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei ran right to me with Matthew and Raphtalia. "Are you al-"

"Stay away from me!" I screamed out of fear.

No… I don't want them to die. I don't want them to die as Kaus did.

This world wanted to take everything precious away from me.

"But Master Naruto."

"Leave this monster behind!" I snarled as dark emotions swirled all around me.

I'm cursed. Am I cursed to be hated no matter where I go? I'm screwed if I got back home and I'm screwed in this twisted world as well?!

"This world… isn't worth saving at all." I hissed out in a whisper. I felt my shield pulsed.

I finally recognized the darkness hidden in me.

All my hatred towards the villagers I had buried deep within… To the cruel life I had to live…

The hatred now lit anew by that bitch princess and her father and roared like an inferno!

The pulse from Tate-chan gotten stronger.

**((Curse Series Shield conditions met))**

My hatred was somehow absorbed into Tate-chan and my field of vision warped. Tate-chan felt like she was on fire.

"Hey! Don't go near that murdering-" A slap echoed throughout the area. I glanced up and found Raphtalia had slapped Motoyasu.

"You're the murderer and a cheat!" Raphtalia roared out at Motoyasu.

"Sir Motoyasu set you free and this is how you pay him?" Malty growled at Raphtalia.

"We never asked to be freed!" Raphtalia hissed out.

"But, wait a second, I thought he was abusing you and treating you badly. Just like the poor soul he killed by making him his shield."

"You fool! You know nothing about Master Naruto or us!" Raphtalia clenched her fists. "He never abused me! He never made me do anything I couldn't do! He only activated the curse when I was too scared to fight. He did it to protect all of us!"

Motoyasu slammed his spear down in anger. "And that's the problem! Nobody should be forced into a fight!"

"And what the hell you call the duel you forced upon Master Naruto?" Motoyasu flinched back at Raphtalia's words. "You forced him into this fight and now Kaus is dead because of you! He escaped the ropes first and used the Substitution Jutsu to protect Master Naruto from that… that kill shot!"

"But… But he tricked you?" Motoyasu questioned himself. "Enslaving people is wrong and-"

"So what?" Matthew stepped in and moved his mantle.

"Your arm?!" Motoyasu gritted his teeth. "He did that to you?!"

"No. It's a birth defect." Motoyasu flinched under the heated glare of the rabbit man. "I thought I was going to rot in that hell hole when Master bought me and gave me a purpose." Matthew turned to Raphtalia. "She was so sick, I expected her to die. Yet Master made medicines and treated her."

"But… He's not that kind of person!"

"You have no right to judge Naruto!" Iruka-sensei howled and grabbed Motoyasu by the collar. "As his teacher, I watched over him for six years!"

"S-Six?! But we've been-"

"Yes. Naruto and I were summoned with you lot a month ago. I took the death blow meant for my student if I took away from your conversation the other day as you all dying, too."

"But he enslaved you?!"

"The crest was my idea. We didn't know who to trust and used the crest as a means to protect ourselves from people disguised as one of us." Iruka-sensei pointed at me. "Go ahead and check his chest. You'll find a crest on Naruto's chest as well."

"A hero… a slave?!" Motoyasu rushed over to me. "Show me your chest! That has to be a lie!"

Damn bastard. I threw some punches at Motoyasu.

"Don't attack him, Naruto!" Iruka-sensei shouted and the monster crest activated. I howled out in pain and gritted my teeth.

Why? Why couldn't I hurt this bastard? He killed Kaus!

No…

My eyes widened. I killed Kaus. If I just found a way to end the fight sooner…

"The Shield Hero was enslaved?!"

"Was he being controlled?"

"Unlikely with how cruel he was to his fellow slave."

"What the hell is this?!" Motoyasu glared right at Iruka-sensei. "You were his slave? How did you make your student your slave? No… Why? Why did you twist him into the monster he is now?!"

"Mon…ster?"

Right. I was a monster. I killed countless people… And Kaus was added to the body count. That was why everyone hated me.

Nobody trusted me and will never do so. Not after Kaus's death.

"I can never do anything right," I whispered out as the flames of Tate-chan got hotter and darker. I felt the flames webbed across my body.

"Stop it, Motoyasu." The Bow Hero and Sword Hero walked out onto the lot with grim faces. "She is telling the truth about… her dead comrade. We saw him used magic to swap places with the Shield Hero."

"And that is why the Shield Hero lost the duel," King Melromarc huffed. "He has used cheating magic since the beginning!"

"Sadly, you're wrong." The Sword Hero looked at Malty. "Your daughter attacked the Shield Hero from behind with magic before the swap. I found it fitting the Shield Hero dodged and Motoyasu got hit instead."

"What are you talking about?" Malty shrugged.

"It was hard to see, but it was clearly wind magic." The Bow Hero added. "And that 'cheating magic' the Shield Hero used was a skill, just like the ones Motoyasu was using the whole time. I know as I have a similar skill." The king flinched at the Bow Hero's scolding glare.

"I think you were imagining things." Malty looked up to the crowd. "The audience didn't see a thing."

"The king told everyone to keep quiet. The nobles agree there was foul play. Especially when the Shield Hero pinned Motoyasu and was not called winner then." The Bow Hero then glared at Motoyasu. "And you, Motoyasu. Why did you even think of using that skill on the Shield Hero? Didn't you use it to finish off the boss?"

"Yeah. Not only did the royalty interfere with a sacred duel, but you also went in wanting to kill the guy, didn't you, Motoyasu."

"No. With how powerful his defenses are, I needed to-"

"His party member sacrificed himself to protect him," The Sword Hero gingerly rubbed his side. "How are you going to make up for killing his party member?"

"How can you be siding with him?" Motoyasu said in horror. "It's wrong for a Hero to have slaves! He was the one to kill his own slave."

"Right," The Bow Hero snorted. "And you were the one to force him into a fight he didn't want to fight. Think about it. If you hadn't had this duel, that lizard man would still be alive."

"You are no hero," Raphtalia snarled as she pushed past everyone and walked towards me. "Master Naruto."

"Stay away!" I shook my head and buried my head back into Kaus's cooling chest. "You're free now! Use it to get away from me!"

Hot tears blurred my vision. I… I couldn't bare to see anyone else die because of me. It was too painful! Worse than the crest on my chest!

I understood why the villagers hated me if taking their loved ones hurt this much.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Master Naruto," Raphtalia got closer to me. "I made a vow to be your sword."

"Yet I broke mine," There was no safe place to return to. What would Raphtalia do after the Waves? Same with Matthew? Iruka-sensei?

How could they continue to live in this messed up world if they stayed with me?

"So what?" Something covered me as my fury and hatred boiled over. "This shield has protected me over and over again. We may not have the safe passage you promised… But we still have you."

"But… I'm a monster. A terrible monster." I gritted my teeth. "Because of me, hundreds of people have ended up like Kaus!"

"And that is in the past." Iruka-sensei's voice. "You're not the Nine-Tailed Fox anymore. You're Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"You gave us our lives back and with that, we trust you with our very lives." Matthew's voice cut through the darkness around me.

"Don't you remember during the Wave? You still used your shield and strength to save many lives. You defended us all."

"But Kaus… He… He's dead because-"

"It's not your fault!" I finally saw Raphtalia's face and there were tears in her eyes as well. "Kaus wouldn't want his death to be in vain. Just as you protected us and gave us our lives back… Kaus did the same for you!"

"But he shouldn't have!" I roared out and felt my body on fire. "I'm the Shield Hero! It's my job to protect people… And I failed the ones' closest to me."

"And is it not okay to fail?" Raphtalia asked as she hugged me. "To me, you will be the kind master who puts everyone else before him. You pushed yourself too much and suffered a great deal… So please… Please let us be with you in your pain. You don't have to do everything alone."

"A…lone?"

"You are hardworking and kind. You do your job selflessly and we want to help you save the world… Even if it's just saving a few people… from what… I have gone through," Raphtalia sobbed out. "If the world speaks ill about you, I'll tell them they are wrong. I'll defend you and remind them of all you did."

Raphtalia sniffled and tightened her hug on me. "You're the one who saved me… And gave me a sword… And a purpose to my life."

"Purpose?" Raphtalia moved back slightly and Matthew and Iruka-sensei stood right behind her.

"I'll always be your sword." Raphtalia put her hand on my shoulder. "And I will always be standing right next to you. No matter what."

"I became a magician because of you, Master. Please let me be by your side as well as your magic." Matthew kneeled down with his head down. "My past life is no more. I want to serve you to the fullest of my abilities."

"Naruto," Iruka-sensei kneeled and looked at me at eye level. "I'm proud of you. No matter how bad things get, I'm not going to abandon my precious student. We may not be able to return to Konoha… And you may not be able to become Hokage… But that doesn't matter if we stick together. We've… become like family and that is why it hurts so much. And we'll get through the pain together." Iruka-sensei put his hand on my shoulder and the fury faded away. The heat slowed as the tears pour from my eyes.

I unleashed a mighty cry and sobbed into someone's chest. I cried and cried until I passed out. When I came to, Iruka-sensei had prepared Kaus's body and we burned his body as the morning's rays lit up the empty arena.


	7. Chapter 7

It seemed King Melromarc loved throwing salt on raw wounds. We were not allowed to eat with the heroes or even the knights of the castle.

Thankfully, the kitchen staff had no Shadows hidden amongst them. Iruka-sensei and I snatched up the leftovers from last night's feast meant for the trash. We ate our leftovers in the castle garden.

I offered some of the leftovers to the flask that Kaus' ashes rested in. It was… odd not hearing Kaus' complaints and smart responses.

"Are you the Shield Hero?" A knight came upon us and I scowled at him. Couldn't he see we were offering last respects to our… fallen family member. "The King has requested an audience with the Heroes and you."

"And why would I care?" I picked up Kaus' aches and sealed the flask away. "I bet he just wants to ground me into the mud more." As if I cared about myself now. I already lost one of my family due to that man's foolishness.

"You will go or…" The knight put his hand on his blade as he looked at Raphtalia with a smirk.

"Fuck you," I snarled but we followed the knight to the throne room. The other heroes and their parties were already there.

"So you finally came, scum." Motoyasu snorted as I took my place next to the heroes.

"Look who's talking." Motoyasu gritted his teeth at the Bow Hero.

"Silence," The King Melromarc made the room go silent from its whispers. "We shall now give out the rewards." Four attendants came out, each holding a bag. "As a reward for his efforts in the Wave and fulfilling my request, Master Motoyasu will receive 4000 silvers."

4-4000?! I could easily pay back my benefactor and have plenty for new equipment and supplies!

"And young masters Itsuki and Ren will receive 3800 silvers." All three heroes received their bags of coins. I looked at the bag before me and realized it was much smaller.

"Finally, I've set aside 500 silver for the Shield Hero." I reached for the loose bag, yet the attendant yanked it back. "However, since it has been offset by setting his slaves free from their curses, he will not be receiving any funds at this time."

"Figures." I sighed and turned to leave. There was no point for us to stay here as King Melromarc had no support for us.

"Wait a second." I stopped and looked at the Bow Hero and Sword Hero. "That's not gonna fly." The Bow Hero stepped forward. "You were the one interfering in his duel. Dispelling those curses… or whatever you call them… was your doing. And you now are refusing to pay him what he deserves? He lost one of his party members due to that duel! That isn't fair play!"

"Yeah," The Sword Hero snorted. "In fact, he deserves more than 500 silvers." Motoyasu gasped at his fellow heroes. "If you followed the rules, Naruto would have been a winner early in that duel."

"What? Are you crazy?" Motoyasu gasped out. "He sacrificed his own slave's life to protect his own skin!"

"I'm afraid you are both mistaken," Malty smiled with his arms crossed. "Sir Itsuki, Sir Ren. The Shield Hero was the one to cheat. It was to be a one on one duel and he made clones of himself. That is the real reason he did not declare the Shield Hero the winner. Same with his slave interfering."

"Even so, you cheated by firing a magic spell at him." Malty gritted her teeth at the Bow Hero's words. "And that was long before that lizard man swapped places with Naruto. And he used a skill. Motoyasu was spamming skills, too, but you aren't saying he cheated."

"Besides, when the Wave hit, it was Naruto, the Shield Hero, who defended that village. Not the knights." The Sword Hero sighed. "He also healed the wounded… and that lizard man might have lived if he hadn't already expended so much of his abilities during the Wave and duel. So if you ask me, it would be the right thing to fairly compensate him. Both for his job during the Wave and the loss of his comrade." Malty looked furious, but the King let out a sigh.

"Fine. I shall only afford him the minimum agreed amount, but there will be nothing more!" The attendant held out the bag and I took it.

500 silver… Add that with my 600 silver, I have 1100. Almost to repayment!

"Well, you have it, so be gone already!" King Melromarc snarled at me and I flinched at his scalding glare at me.

"What the?" The Bow Hero and Sword Hero looked surprised by the heated look at me, but I just sighed.

"So be it." I turned around and my party followed me out of the throne room. A knight led us out of the castle and we found the streets beginning their day with people going about their business with relieved faces.

"Master Naruto, let's get the slave crests put back on." Raphtalia chimed as we walked through the streets.

"What?" I looked at her with horror. "But you are free now like I promised… Albeit in a roundabout way, but that is one promise I kept." And planned on keeping it.

"If we were in another country, then it would be fine." Matthew stepped in. "But with the… king not your ally, we are safer your slaves than free."

"I also will get one again," Iruka-sensei said in a serious tone. "Those Shadows are too strong… I need to train harder to not fail you again." Iruka-sensei gritted his teeth in anger.

"Alright," I was too tired to fight it. We change directions and went to Beloukas's tent.

"I'll gladly put the slave crests back on." Beloukas chuckled as he looked over Matthew and Raphtalia. "Amazing, Who knew you could spot diamonds in the rough. Especially the lass. I thought she was more like us. I hadn't thought she had this much potential!"

"What does that mean?" My eyebrow twitched at the slave trader. "If you properly care for a person, of course, they are gonna end up much better than how your wares are."

"Hit it right where it hurts," Beloukas said in mock pain as he pulled out his supplies needed for the slave crests. "Ah, now then, as for the appraisal… The Rabbit Man's worth 10 gold pieces as he clearly is a mage now. The raccoon type certainly has become a beauty, but if she's not a virgin, then I would say… 20 pieces of gold."

"Why are you assuming he's here to sell us? And. besides, I AM a virgin!" Beloukas jumped back at Raphtalia's shout.

"Now we're talking! How does 35 gold pieces sound."

"35 gold pieces." 45 if you added in Matthew's value. That easily paid my benefactor back several times over.

"Master Naruto!" I yelped when Raphtalia grabbed on my shoulders. "Master Naruto, if you don't stop playing around, I'll get angry." Ow! Her grip actually hurts! Her attack must be much higher than my defense.

"Sorry… Just wasn't expecting you to be worth that much." I smiled back at Raphtalia. "You're worth way more to me than money."

"Real-Really?" Raphtalia's face turned pink.

"Anyways, Beloukas-san, I'm not here to sell. Who would sell off their own family members?"

"Family… member?" Whoa. Raphtalia's face turned red. Was she getting a fever?

"Too bad, too bad." Beloukas sighed as he mixed the ink up. "Alright, let's get those slave crests on."

"Alright," Raphtalia removed her breastplate and opened her shirt to expose… Quite some cleavage.

"How… is the view?" Raphtalia asked before I realized I was staring and turned around.

"S-Sorry!" I squeaked as the memories of peeking on women at the hot springs came back to me. I didn't want Raphtalia angry at me!

"Oh…" She sounded deflated before she gritted her teeth. I saw her contract appeared and set it like Iruka-sensei's before. If their attack was higher than mine, best to set up that no attacking command to prevent accidentally hurting each other… Am I wondering if we can stretch that command to cover the whole party?

"I don't look good? Raphtalia whimpered out.

"Have you heard all the commotion at the castle?" I changed the subject. Beloukas smiled at my question.

"I've heard of it. Including one of your slaves died being a shield for you."

"Yeah," I gingerly touched my pouch. If I wasn't the Shield Hero… Would he have lived?

"That king's rash remarks are not going to rid slavery in this kingdom. No, sir."

"So he was lying about me breaking this country's customs?" I bit my lip.

"Yes, sir. The royals buy more slaves than anyone else. They find all sorts of ways to put them to use, my boy."

"That idiot!" I hissed as my fury came back. "How could he say all those things and not end up a hypocrite against the Crown?" And now Kaus was dead because of his foolishness.

"Yes, the country is not monolithic. There are many different voices to be heard. If the Crown were to speak out against it, they would be the first ones to suffer from the proclamation."

"Does that fool of a king really have that much power?" I asked with a shiver.

"Yes, the monarchy exercises absolute authority, but that doesn't mean it can do whatever it wants. If the Crown acts against the wishes of the people, there will be riots. Under such circumstances, the royal family may not be able to hold onto power for very long. His little princess wouldn't be too happy about losing her shot at the throne." Beloukas chuckled, "And there are people with more power than the king."

"My benefactor, huh?" I wondered who this person was. Not that I'm going to prod, what with seeing that the King had his own Shadows. I just had to be more careful with who I allied myself with.

"Yes, I actually can't wait to see what happens when  _she_  returns."

"Right," I rather not be around when this "she" returns. I glanced around and seen a large crate in the corner filled with eggs. It wasn't there before. "What's that?"

"Oh?" Beloukas grinned, "This is a monster egg lottery. For a 100 silver, you are guaranteed at least a Filolial. You win a monster that will double in value if you raise it properly."

"A… Filolial?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Certainly you've seen them in the town?" I turned to Raphtalia. "They are those giant bird monsters that pull people's carriages around town."

"Oh, yeah. Those fluffy ostriches." I said as I remembered seeing the huge birds in the streets.

"Once more, if you hit the jackpot," Beloukas threw his arms out in excitement. "You'll win a knight's dragon! And may I remind you that beast is worth 20 gold pieces!"

"Dragons exist here?" I said in awe. Were they like the legends? Or maybe the one he spoke of was like the giant lizards the knights rode. Still, a dragon sounded awesome!

"So, you wanna try it, my boy?" Beloukas chimed at me. "Act now and it will be a package deal. For the eggs and slave crests."

A slave crest was 50 silvers… So…

"You got yourself a deal."

"Master Naruto?!"

"Calm down," I sighed as I looked at the eggs. "We need to fill Kaus's place in our party… And I don't think I can buy another slave after what happened."

"So, you will raise a monster instead?" Matthew let out a sigh. "Don't tell me you are after the dragon?"

"Even a Usapil would be worth it." And if it was too hard to keep, we could sell the monster back… Still, getting a dragon would be cool.

"There are 250 eggs in the crate and only one of them is a dragon egg," Beloukas continued, "I've compensated for the difference in weight with a magic spell."

"A 1 in 250 chance." I sighed and looked over the eggs. They all… felt a little different from each other…"Wait, you said you made it harder to tell which egg is the dragon?"

"Why, yes!"

"Isn't this the dragon egg?" I picked up the only egg that didn't feel like a duplicate. It was near the middle.

"How… How… Let me see the number on the egg." I showed the egg to Beloukas and he flipped through a little log book he pulled from his sleeve. "I… I don't believe it. How could you tell it was the winning egg?!"

"What?!"

"He actually won the dragon?!" Matthew and Raphtalia gasped in shock while Iruka-sensei furrowed his brows.

"How could you tell, Naruto?" Iruka-sensei asked.

"I just… felt it." I scrunched my brows. "Like how I feel this weird feeling of people using chakra and mana."

"And you sensed the magic before, too."

"Yeah. I was surprised I could dodge it with sensing it. "I laughed.

"And to think… I've been failing… you." Iruka-sensei spoke in Melromarc. "Sensor-nin."

"Sensor-nin?" Beloukas asked with his glasses shining.

"A ninja… able to sense… things others can't." Iruka-sensei sighed as he closed his eyes. I felt his chakra leave his body and returned to him like an echo. He then picked up an egg from the right side of the line in the create. "This is… Filolial."

Beloukas checked the book again and dropped it. "Right again! How do you do that?!"

"Natural ability… Rare." Iruka-sensei sighed. "I should have seen… it as… I am a… Sensor-nin."

"Amazing… Iruka-sensei and Master Naruto are amazing!" Raphtalia chirped out with her hands together.

"Amazing, indeed." Beloukas wrung his hands together. "Did you chose that Filolial with sensing how strong it was?"

"Yes… Felt strongest."

"Oh! You are both giving me goosebumps!" Beloukas grin grown ear to ear. "I'll let you have the Filolial egg for free with choosing the winning egg! I can't wait to see the results of you raising monsters, my boy!"

"Well, that will at least make travel easier," I laughed at how excited Beloukas was. "You want to register yourself as the owner, Iruka-sensei? You are already training one monster." I grinned at my joke.

"No. Best you own them." Iruka-sensei handed me the Filolial egg. "You did decide to buy an egg. They are your responsibly."

"Why… do you sound so stern about it?" I laughed weakly as the Beloukas pulled out two dishes.

"Look at the symbol painted on the eggshell, and copy it onto the dish before you." I did as he said with my blood mixed ink and painted the symbol onto the dish. When I did, the symbol glowed red and both eggs appeared in my monster crest section. It had a window pop up detailing various rules of usage that I could set for the monster.

I set that the two monsters would have to obey my orders or face punishment and it was set stricter than the others. They may not understand language, so I had to have the means to tell the two right from wrong.

Beloukas wrung his hands in delight and brought over two machines that looked like some kind of incubator. I placed the eggs inside them.

"If they don't hatch, I'll be back for my money." I glared at Beloukas. There was a chance the monsters inside could die before hatching.

"I tip my hat at you, Hero! Determined to get his money's worth even with knowing which eggs he got!" Wow. Beloukas was in way too good of a mood with losing a 20 gold piece dragon for 1 gold piece. "Ah, my boy, what is your name? I am sure you will gladly advertise my lottery to others with showing off your winning dragon."

I knew it! So that was why he was so happy! Well, might as well throw the guy a bone since he helped me out a lot.

"Sure. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the Shield Hero." I bowed as I introduced myself.

"Naruto Uzumaki… Quite a splendid name." Beloukas chuckled. "Here's to a long time relationship with you, Sir Naruto."

"I guess," I took Beloukas outstretched hand and shook it. "So, just when should I expect these two to hatch?" I passed the coins to him as I asked.

"It's written on the incubator," I glanced at them and saw both should hatch some time tomorrow.

"That's fast," I said as we walked away from Beloukas.

"I'm always glad when you pay me a visit, my boy. Come back soon!"

Or not. I had Matthew carry one of the incubators while I held onto the other one. We left the tent and headed back to the streets. "Let's go to the pharmacy and then head to the weapon shop."

"Master Naruto! You shouldn't waste money like this!" Raphtalia scolded me.

"I know. I have extra medicine from the Wave. I am hoping to get enough to get Matthew a better weapon or even some plate armor for you three."

"We already got enough protection as is." Matthew sighed. "It's not like anything can stand up against the strength of a hero."

"But we may have… other problems than the heroes." I sighed as we reached the pharmacy. "I want to protect you, be it directly or indirectly."

"Naruto," Iruka-sensei whispered as we entered the pharmacy. The old man behind the counter looked at me in shock.

"Boy, you are a demi?" He asked, amazed at my growth. "No wonder you asked for tools for your own medicine, Shield Hero."

"Ack! You know?!" I flinched back from the old man.

"Not many kids with a shield on their arms around here." The old man smiled at me. Huh? He always had a sullen face, so it was weird to see him with a smile. "I have a lot of relatives in Lute Village. They asked me to help you if you came here." The old man pulled out a book from under the counter. It was old and well loved.

"A book?"

"This grimoire has recipes finer than the ones you have here for sale." He pointed at my medicines on the counter. "Use it, it's yours." I looked over the pages and went pale. It… was very word heavy and I could only read bits and pieces of it.

"There's something else," I looked up at the old man. No, I'll call him Doc. "The old hag from the magic shop was asking to see you. It's for a similar reason."

"Magic shop… Aunt's shop?" I asked with a cocked head.

"I believe so. It's on the main street." Yep. Aunt's shop. "I'll pay you fifty silvers for all your medicine."

"Sold!" I took the money with a grin. That was the best price I have gotten so far for medicine! We left the pharmacy and went to Aunt's shop.

"Oh! Shield Hero! I have to thank you for saving my grandchild in the battle at Lute!" Aunt took my hand and shook it with glee. "I must repay you. Come here." Auntie went behind her counter and pulled out some books from the bookshelf. "These are a bit old, but they cover the basics of the affinities you all have." She placed three grimoires before us. "Please take them. They can teach you up to the second tier of magic if you work hard enough!"

"That's a bit much," I said.

"I actually would have preferred to give you a crystal ball, but if I did I would put myself out of business."

"Why's that?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Aunt looked at us with surprise. "If you use a crystal ball, you can learn one of the magics sealed within it."

"First I ever heard of it," but that was probably what the masked lady tried to have us buy. Something like that had to cost a fortune.

"Odd," Aunt looked at me in confusion. "I heard the royal court had ordered a bunch of them to give to all the heroes."

"Yeah, they probably did… To every hero except me, that is." I sighed. But, that's what I got for being cautious. And I don't regret it with how King Melromarc is like. "Oh, well, I will just have to work harder then."

"That's the spirit!" Aunt hummed out. "Work hard and you will learn many spells from those grimoires."

"Thank you." I smiled at Aunt and we left her shop feeling a little better. "Guess we got a lot of studying to do."

"I'll gladly assist you, Master." Matthew hummed out. "I will do my hardest to ensure the magic potential of our party is reached.

"Oh! I forgot to buy you a new wand!" We reached Uncle's shop.

"Actually, I think Boss here will have more of what I want in a weapon."

"Really?" I asked as we entered the shop.

"Oh, welcome!" Uncle cheered when we walked into the shop. "Glad to see you… Wait, where's that-Oh." We all frowned and he changed the subject. "Guess you are here to make up for that loss. How can I help you?"

"Can you get Iruka-sensei, Raphtalia, and Matthew some metal breastplates and Matthew a new weapon."

"Do you have any staffs that are short?" Matthew asked, "I don't think I can wield a long staff."

"Why, yes I do." Uncle went around the counter and pulled a branch looking club out of a barrel. It had a gem embedded in the knot formed at the top. "Will this do?"

"Perfect." Matthew took the club into his hand and swung it around. "With this, I can cast magic and attack if I needed to."

"Good. I'll give ya a discount and throw it in for half off with the order of the three breastplates." Uncle looked around his shop and plucked the breastplates from different areas of the shop. "Here, try them on. I'll adjust them if needed."

All three took turns and changed in the changing room. Iruka-sensei's breastplate was similar to the knights' and protected his shoulders as well. Raphtalia's was rounder and had leather for most of it to keep her mobility. Matthew's looked similar to mine being just a plate to cover the chest.

"300 silver pieces should be good enough." Uncle nodded, proud of picking out breastplates that fit.

"Thanks," Down back to 700 silvers. However, it would be worth it now that my… family had better protection. "Let's head back to Lute for now." We were just beginning to move onto the swamplands near there and it should be the perfect area to work…" I shut my mouth.

We no longer had Kaus. Could we handle the swamplands without him?

"Right. And we can help the villagers rebuild a little." Raphtalia chimed and brought me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, let's do our best," I said even with deep pain in my heart.

* * *

I looked at the hourglass-like symbol marked with Melromarc and found we had forty-five days till the next wave. I bought some new compounding equipment and let Tate-chan absorb the old stuff I was using.

**Mortar Shield conditions met.**  
**Beaker Shield conditions met.**  
**Druggist's Mortar Shield conditions met.**  
**Mortar Shield:**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Novice Compounding**  
**Beaker Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Liquid Solutions Bonus**  
**Druggist's Mortar Shield:**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Gathering Skill 2**

Awesome! These will greatly improve my medicines! With our supplies and a quick meal in our stomachs, we headed back to Lute. As we got closer to Lute, we found the dead enemies of the Wave laying around the fields outside of Lute.

**Inter-Dimensional Locust Shield: conditions met.**  
**Inter-Dimensional Lower Bee Shield: conditions met.**  
**Inter-Dimensional Zombie Shield: conditions met.**  
**Inter-Dimensional Locust Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Defense +6**  
**Inter-Dimensional Lower Bee Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Agility +6**  
**Inter-Dimensional Zombie Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: inventory rot resistance (small)**

I butchered the enemies further to see if any of their parts would result in additions shields. Sadly, there weren't enough materials and I only unlocked one more shield at the cost of my stomach flipping.

**Bee Needle Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Attack +1**  
**Equip Effect: Needle Shield(small), Bee Poison(paralysis)**

Awesome! Another attack shield! And it had a paralyzing effect? That will be useful.

We continued our way into the village when we came across a group of villagers removing the corpse of the boss monster.

"Hey!"

"Oh! The Shield Hero!" The villagers greeted us warmly. Though their looks quickly soured as they looked back at the beast.

"It's a terrible thing."

"It sure is." I flinched at the torn up corpse. Seemed the heroes and knights torn into the thing for materials and left it to rot. Damn, nausea hit me with looking at the carnage. I could take dealing with guts and such, but this poor beast was mutilated almost beyond recognition.

"Can I have a little of it?"

"Of course. We were just wondering what we should do with it. We were going to bring it back to the village and process it into equipment. Sounds good?"

"Not a bad idea, but it doesn't look like there is anything of use left." I looked at the beast and had an idea. "You may be able to use the bones, but could we have the meat?"

"The meat?"

"You're not thinking of eating it?!" Raphtalia gasped out.

"No. We have a dragon and Filolial. Best stock up on food for them."

"Oh, those can eat just about anything."

"Yeah. Better than letting it rot. Let us process it for you."

"Sure and thanks." We helped the villagers butcher the remains to make it easier to move and Tate-chan absorbed what she could.

**Chimera Meat Shield: conditions met.**  
**Chimera Bone Shield: conditions met.**  
**Chimera Leather Shield: conditions met.**  
**Chimera Viper Shield: conditions met.**  
**Chimera Meat Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Cooking Skill +2**  
**Chimera Bone Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Shadow Resistance(medium)**  
**Chimera Leather Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Defense +10**  
**Chimera Viper Shield**  
**(abilities locked) equip bonus: "Change Shield" skill, Antidote Compounding Up, Poison Resistance(medium)**  
**Equip Effect: Snake Venom Fang(medium), Hook**

The last one had the best bonuses and a very high defense rating. I would be equipping it as soon as I mastered the other chimera shields to unlock it.

"So, you are going to leave us the bones?" One villager asked.

"Yeah. You could probably sell them to earn money for rebuilding." I put my hands together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I made several clones and we helped the villagers bring the meat and bones back to the village after I absorbed the guts and anything that looked like it could rot quickly.

It was dusk when we reached the village and the governor got us settled in the inn for free. I was a bit embarrassed by the free room and board, but I took it.

"So, what are we going to do?" Matthew asked as he pulled out the magic books.

"We are going to train near here for a few days." I answered as I looked at the eggs. "We can't help too much for rebuilding, but I plan to use my clones to assist in rebuilding while we train." Plus, while the clones did the construction work, the clones could unlock shields. It would be a win-win for everyone.

"That sounds… like a good idea." Iruka-sensei smiled at me. "Let's study hard… tonight."

"Yes. I want to learn healing magic no matter what." I gripped my fists and we all jumped into studying the tomes we had acquired. We, for once, slept in as we had studied into the wee hours of the night.

When I woke up, I found both eggs with cracks in them. "Everyone! Wake up!" I rushed to wake everyone and they crowded around me as the eggs formed more cracks. The cracks spread on one egg and opened with an audible crack.

"Cheep!" A small pink chick popped out of the egg and looked at me. "Cheep!" It chirped and flew up to me and landed on my head.

"So cute!" Raphtalia chirped out. "It thinks you are its mother."

"Imprinting, hm?" Iruka-sensei said as the other egg hatched. A little lizard head popped out and it looked at me. It was… pink as well?

"A… pink dragon?" Raphtalia asked as both Matthew and Iruka-sensei snorted to stop from laughing.

"Gaugh?" I held my hand out to the dragon and it sniffed my hand. It licked it before climbing up my arm like a lizard. It stretched out its little wings before the chick fussed and tried to kick the dragon. The dragon hissed back.

"No!" Both froze up at my voice. "Do not fight each other!" I yanked them apart. They looked at me with fearful eyes. "Do that again and I'll sell you right now!"

"Master Naruto! That's just cruel!"

"But we can't have them fighting each other." I sighed as I placed the dragon and chick down.

"Cheep?" The chick went back over to the dragon and the dragon went and hid back in the incubator. It peaked out fearfully and the chick came closer and touched it's beak to the dragon's nose. The dragon licked the chick back, and it went to nuzzle up to the dragon.

"It… worked?!"

"Good… I didn't expect it to." I sheepishly laughed as both the dragon and the chick took over my shoulders. "Though you guys left quite a mess." I cleared up the egg shells, feathers, and scales left behind. My shield reacted and absorbed them.

**Monster User Shield: conditions met.**  
**Monster Egg Shield: conditions met.**  
**Monster User Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Monster Maturation Adjustment(small)**  
**Monster Egg Shield**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Cooking Skill +3**

"Another adjustment shield?" I changed my shield to the Monster User Shield. "Well… Wait, what do you feed baby monsters?" I asked with a bit of worry.

"I don't know… I think I saw a farm with Filolials, so they might know." Raphtalia said and we agreed to search out one of the farmers. We found one fixing his barn.

"A Filolial chick and a dragon?!" The farmer gasped in awe when we walked up. "You better keep those two separated. Those two species don't mix."

"I saw that." So that would be a good thing I had nipped it in the bud, if it comes up again I will need to smash that problem. "Do you know what young Filolials and dragons eat?"

"I don't know if it will work for the dragon, but Filolails you'll have to feed them warm bean paste to start with. Once they get bigger, they will eat anything. If you level it up, it'll become big that much faster."

"I see. So it's the same as Demi-humans. Let's go increase these two's levels so they can eat."

"Ah, Shield Hero!" I turned back to the farmer. "Please take these beans. You don't have anything to feed them, do you?" He held out a small sack of beans.

"Sorry. How much for those?"

"Oh, take them for free. It is fine, really." The farmer smiled at me as he held the beans out. "We villagers are truly grateful to you, Shield Hero."

"Ah… But your barn was hit bad." I looked over the place. Holes were throughout the barn.

"Yeah. I lost quite a few of my Filolials because of it." I took the bag and placed some copper coins in his hand. "Huh? I said-"

"You need funds to restore your barn." He went wide eyed at me. "It's not much for the beans, but it can help with food for your family and monsters." And… I really didn't want to take anything that he needed away from him. He probably had chicks to feed as well.

We left the barn and headed out to level.

"So, are you going to name them?" Raphtalia asked.

"Er… Do we need to name them?" I mean, if these two become a problem, the we would have to sell them back to Beloukas.

"Are you just going to call it 'chick,' 'dragon,' or 'Filolial?'" Raphtalia huffed.

True… That would make it hard to train them… So…

"How about Filo for the chick and Lial for the dragon?"

"Your creativity amazes me." Raphtalia smacked her forehead while Matthew and Iruka-sensei gave me strained smiles.

"Oh, give me a break!"

"Cheep!"

"Gaugh!"

The Filolial gave off a satisfied chirp and the dragon gave a proud little growl as if they understood me naming them. They made my head heavy as both nestled on my head.

We went to the swamplands and I still was surprised by the Big Frogs. They reached up to my waist.

"I'm going!"

"Wait! Raphtalia!" I hadn't restrained the frog yet!

"Hiya!" Raphtalia slashed at the frog and startled it. Then the Big Frog puffed up its cheeks and then shot its razor sharp tongue at Raphtalia.

"Watch out!" I ran forward and caught the brunt of the attack with my shield.

"Cheep!" Both Filo and Lial were excited and seemed to run on my head and shoulders.

"I'll hold it down, so you just calm down!"

"But I…"

"He's right," Iruka-sensei said as Matthew chanted a spell. The Big Frog shot out its tongue at me and I caught it with my hands… Eeeew. "Faust Wind Blow!" A ball of air hit the Big Frog and knocked it off balanced.

"Go!"

"Okay!" Raphtalia lunged at the frog with her sword and sliced it down with ease.

"You need to be more cautious, Raphtalia." I sighed as I let go of the tongue.

"But, we don't have much time until the next-"

"We have a month and a half," Matthew answered, "If we keep at this rate, we'll hit the limit before we can afford a class-up."

"Class-up?" Iruka-sensei, Raphtalia, and I asked.

"Ah, right. The most one can level naturally is to level 40. After that, you have to do this class-up ceremony to break past it. Not that I know how as I was just a normal shopkeeper."

"Damn. That's not good," Iruka-sensei was already almost to the limit.

"Gugeeeeh!"

What the? I turned at the sudden sound and saw something twice as big as the Big Frog and there was a Gray Salamander with it. Both ran straight at us.

"In you go!" I stuffed both Filo and Lial into my armor and rushed forward.

"Master Naruto!" I blocked the viscous, poisonous-looking liquid spat at me.

"Go!"

"Okay!" She ran at the two beasts and quickly cut them down with her sword.

I butchered the monsters and let the shield absorb the parts. The frog meat looked gross, but my cooking ability appraised it as edible. Guess that will be monster food.

"Pii!" Filo crawled out from my armor and walked over to the defeated monsters. It struck a defiant pose over their bodies as if it had killed them itself. Cute.

We continued with training in the area and by evening I felt the results.

**Naruto Uzumaki Lv. 28**  
**Raphtalia Lv. 32**  
**Matthew Lv. 30**  
**Iruka Umino Lv. 34**  
**Filo Lv. 12**  
**Lial Lv. 12**

Filo and Lial didn't contribute to the battles at all but received enough experience points to level up quickly. Both of them had grown to where only one could stay on my head at a time. Filo looked like a dark pink steamed bun while Lial seemed like a plump lizard. It had turned dark pink, too. I took some feathers from Filo and fed them into my shield.

**Monster User Shield II: conditions met.**  
**Monster User Shield II**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Monster Status Adjustment(small)**

"Piyo."

"Groo."

Wow. They even sounded different. I let both of them down as they have gotten heavy. They both walked around authoritatively… Till their stomachs growled. We already ran out of the beans by midday, so we fed them some of the frog meat. They were still hungry and began to eat anything that looked like food, like piles of hay we'd found on the road heading back to Lute. They ate all of it and they were still hungry.

Damn. It must be proof of how fast they were growing. Do I need to feed them Nourishing Beverages to make sure they have proper nutrition?

"Are… they growing a bit too fast?" Matthew said in awe.

"I know… Monsters sure are amazing." It wouldn't be long before they could carry us!

We went back to the inn and I asked the innkeeper where we could keep Filo and Lial. He led us to the stables, which were lined with hay for Filo and Lial could make a bed.

"Huh? Why are the Chimera bones and meat in here?" The meat was hanging from the ceiling.

"We decided to hang it up here and wait for it to soften a bit. That should make further processing easier." The innkeeper said, "We also had some people came by and are interested in the meat as well."

"Oh?" So there were buyers for this meat? Probably researchers.

"Piyo!"

Grumble.

Hungry already! I sighed and unsealed some more meat and fed the Filolial and dragon.

Pikee, Pikee, Pikee.

Was that their bones creaking? Were both of them already growing?

"I can't believe how much these two grown over the day. You might be in over your head, eh?" The innkeeper looked concerned.

"They are only at level 12."

"Huh? Level 12?" The innkeeper shot a surprised glanced at Firo and Lial. "To grow this much in only a few days after it birth! Well, I'd swear they were at level 20! You're very impressive, Hero."

I guessed the maturation adjustment was to blame. Every time I checked their status, the numbers were different. So I guess they were really growing very quickly.

I rubbed Filo and Lial's heads till they fell asleep. Once both were snoring, we went back to our room for studying.

* * *

I woke up early and snuck out of the room to not wake up the others. We all stayed up late studying language and magic. However, I really wanted to check on Filo and Lial.

"Gah!"

"Gah!"

Two loud, wild voices greeted me when I entered the stables. When I saw Filo and Lial, I recoiled back in shock. Both had grown since last night. Filo… Where it had just been a round chick before now had its legs and neck grown out. It stood there, looking something like an ostrich.

Lial, too. The dragon now had wings to fit her large size and looked like those lizard creatures I seen in the streets, well minus the fact that Lial had wings and those didn't.

The only difference was the duo were both to my waist compared to normal Filolials and dragons. If I was still my original size, I could have ridden them… But not now.

Grumble…

I thought so. Raphtalia and I had the worst of appetites when we leveled up. I bought some food for them before coming into the stable and fed them.

"Look at you! And you just hatched yesterday!" I smiled as both… Wait, why were they making the same sound? That was odd.

Still, the possibilities before me with these two were endless. Filo could pull a cart once it was old enough and Lial could fly! That would make traveling so much easier and we could find the best areas to train faster.

"Woah. What a mess." Both Filo and Lial had shed feathers and scales. They had changed colors again. Filo was a mix of white and very light pink while Lial was a pastel-like pink with a white belly. It matched her oddly softer features she had compared to the lizards I saw.

"Clean up, clean up." Maybe I can use these feathers and scales as materials for my shield.

**Monster User Shield III: conditions met.**  
**Monster User Shield III**  
**(ability locked) equip bonus: Maturation Adjustment(medium)**

Wow! Does that mean Filo and Lial would grow even faster?! I changed Tate-chan to unlock it… Wait… Does that mean the maturation adjustment affect me as well?

"Here's hoping to not grow back into a giant." I laughed as Filo and Lial nudged me. "Right. Let's go play!" Both cheered and followed me outside. I grabbed a stick and thrown it for both to play catch. They took turns catching it and bringing it back to me.

"Good." I smiled before they started to impress me with working together to catch the stick higher and higher. "And they said Filolials and dragons didn't get along!" I laughed.

"Only you would be able to get a dragon and Filolial to work together," Kaus said as he stood next to me. I went wide-eyed before I chuckled back at him.

"Well, we… got a lot ahead of us." I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Just keep chugging along. You'll make it." I opened my eyes and Kaus was gone.

"Gah?" Filo nudged me and I focused back on the two.

"Sorry." I petted them both.

"Mmm… There you are, Master Naruto. And look at that smile! I don't think I've ever seen you so happy!"

"Really?" I asked as Raphtalia walked to me. "Don't I smile all the time?"

"Never like that." Hm? Her smile was a bit twisted. Was she still tired?

"Gah!" Filo was lightly tapping at Raphtalia with its beak. Lial followed Filo and nudged Raphtalia at the other side. Raphtalia smiled and rubbed both monsters.

"Where should we go train?" I asked.

"How about we go the plains to the south of here?" Oh! Matthew and Iruka-sensei walked up to us. "There is bound to be plenty of edible and herbal grasses there," Matthew said with a smile.

"Good idea." I put my hands together and formed several clones.

"Gah!" Filo and Lial looked at me in shock.

"Go help the villagers except one of you. That one is coming with us to gather herbs."

"Yes, sir!"

With that out of the way, we went to the fields and fought monsters until we leveled up.

**Naruto Uzumaki Lv. 29**  
**Raphtalia Lv. 33**  
**Matthew Lv. 31**  
**Iruka Umino Lv. 34**  
**Filo Lv. 15**  
**Lial Lv. 15**

Did we hit Iruka-sensei's cap of growth here? Guess we can catch up to him and move on.

I was thankful for my clone as I spent most of my time picking edible grasses for Filo and Lial. Though, all the stuff I absorbed got me some small status bonuses. I needed every little one I could get. By evening, it seemed Filo and Lial reached to being full-grown.

"Sure is growing up quickly. Normally it takes them three months or more to reach this size." The innkeeper and the farmer were both surprised. "And that's a Knight's Dragon. I never thought I would see one up close." The farmer the laughed as my dragon greeted his Filolials and nuzzled against the confused birds. "It must think it's a Filolial, too!"

"Maybe," It did follow Filo around as if it was its sibling.

"Gah!"

"Huh?" Filo called out and dipped its head for me to climb onto its back. "You want me to ride you?"

"Gah!" Filo nodded as if it understood me and I got on.

"Wait! You best get a sad-"

"Gah!"

"Woah!" Filo stood up and my vantage point changed. So high-Oh, shit!

Filo took off running and I grabbed its feathers to keep from falling off.

Sooo fast! Even faster than Iruka-sensei! I could barely keep up with where we were at. Filo circled the village once before returning to the stables.

"That… was insane." I took a deep breath once Filo sat down and let me off. "I didn't expect Filo would be so fast!" And Filo didn't look tired one bit! It just went to preening its feathers.

"Gah!"

Huh? Lial nudged me and offered its back to ride.

"Well, it wouldn't be fair if Filo just got to be a ride on."

"Master Naruto, wait! Knight Dragons-"

"Gah!" Off we went, my second time around the village. There were some times where Lial would open its wings and glide, but it stuck mostly to the ground.

"Now, that's odd." The farmer said after I have gotten off Lial. "Usually a flying type dragon would want to fly right away. I never have seen one that ran before."

"Really?" I looked at Lial in shock as Filo and Lial cleaned each other.

Did I get a dud dragon?… Oh, well. Lial was still fast like Firo, so the gold piece was still worth it for both of them.

"Well, let's get to studying." I turned to Iruka-sensei. "You said you wanted to teach me a jutsu?"

"Yeah. That way you have some form of attack." Iruka-sensei grinned as I felt a tug on my collar.

"Huh?" Filo and Lial looked like they were wanting to cry. I tried to turn to leave again, yet they pulled on my cloak again.

"What is it?"

"Gaaaah!" Both dug their feet into the ground, determined to stand their ground.

"What? You want to play more?" Raphtalia asked, but both shook their heads in a "no." Could they really understand us?

"Are you… lonely?" I asked and both nodded. They flapped their wings and cried out.

"Oh, boy," I sighed. "Guess our studying is in here tonight."

"You better not think of sleeping in here tonight."

"No, no. We'll just stay till they fall asleep." But, just in case… I had my clone practice with the new herbs we found. We still couldn't read the medicine grimoire, so it was more a guessing game than true compounding.

However, even as we studied, the odd sounds of Filo and Lial's bones creaking made me constantly worry. I looked at the Chimera meat and prayed to whatever deities were listening… Please, please, please, make the two cows worth of meat last us!


	8. Chapter 8

"I can't believe they have grown so much in just two days!" Raphtalia gasped as it seemed both Filo and Lial hadn't finished growing. "Are… you sure we'd gotten a Filolial?"

"No clue." I sighed as both Filo and Lial almost reached the roof of the stable. "I guess my growth boost must be the cause for them to grow more than a normal Filolial and dragon."

"Wait, have you… fed them yet?" Iruka-sensei asked and we realized Filo and Lial chewed on something.

"No. I haven't…" I felt the blood in my face drain as I looked at the Chimera meat… Or at least where it should have been. "All of it?" I felt ready to faint. "And here I thought their appetites had crested!"

"Well, guess that means we will be hunting extra hard to feed everyone." Matthew sighed as he petted Lial. "However, now that their level is 19, they should be able to help in a fight."

"Hey, look at that."

"Why are the knights here?"

"Huh?" We heard the villagers and we all walked out of the stable with Filo and Lial. We found the villagers all gathered and… Malty and Motoyasu right in the middle of the group.

"In light of his exploits during the last Wave, the Spear Hero, Sir Motoyasu, has been appointed as ruling lord of this region." Malty declared as Motoyasu smiled on top of the dragon he sat on. "In order to help with the rebuilding efforts, we decided to levy a toll. This toll will be 50 silvers to enter the village and 50 silvers to exit."

"A  _whole_  gold coin?!"

"That would ruin us!"

"We won't have anything left to buy food with."

"Do you dare defy your lord's orders?" Malty growled out at the complaints.

"Yep. You bet!" I shouted and everyone looked at me. I had both of my hands on my waist and a scowl on my face.

"The Shield Hero?" Malty snorted at the sight of me. "What are you still doing here? This is Sir Motoyasu's domain now. You have no right to question him." Malty then closed her eyes and waved her hand. "In fact, leave this instant you miserable criminal!"

"Criminal?"

"The Shield Hero a criminal?

So they decided to label me a criminal after the duel. Just how much does the royalty of this country hate demi-humans like myself?

I gritted my teeth before I held my nose up high. "Oh, don't worry. I'm glad to leave." All to get further away from Kaus' killer. "But you know, I don't think the villagers will be too happy about it." I glared at Motoyasu. "Motoyasu! You have any idea how much it cost to spend a night at the inn here?"

"Huh?" Motoyasu looked confused at my question. "Actually, I…"

I held up one finger. "It's a silver a night, food included. You are charging the amount of a 100 nights to a community that can survive on 20 coppers a day to just enter and exit the village. Are you wanting to curse this town? Do you realize that?" I grinned at the constipated expression on Motoyasu's face.

"Myne, don't you think we could-"

"Yeah! He's right!"

"You just can't show up and call yourself our lord."

"And it was the Shield Hero who defended this village when the Waves of Catastrophe hit." The villagers all voiced their opinions.

"Are you really going to complain about a royal decree." Malty motioned and the knights with Motoyasu and her pointed their spears at the villagers.

"I suggest you all knock it off!" I growled as I changed my shield and got my hands together… That is, till Shadows blurred to the feet of the princess.

Malty looked down with surprise over her face and even gasped at the Shadows kneeling before her.

"I trust you know who we represent, Princess Malty." Oh! The masked lady was with this group. I recognized her voice and the feeling of her chakra and mana.

"But why have you come here?" Malty asked and the masked lady held up a fancy scroll to the princess.

"For you," The masked lady held up the scroll and Malty took it.

"Who are they, Master Naruto?" Raphtalia asked with uneasiness.

"Shadows. Clearly from my mysterious benefactor." However, just who was my benefactor? Malty opened the scroll in a fury before the blood drained from her face. She glared at the scroll as her shoulders tensed up.

"How can this be?" Malty seethed before she turned her blind fury onto me. "Shield Hero," Malty barked out as she pointed at me. "Fight us for the right to rule this village!"

"Huh?" I gasped and everyone turned to me. "Wait, why do I have to fight?" Fear rose up in my gut.

"But sir, if you refuse this challenge, the village will fall into the Spear Hero's hands." The governor said. Damn! Don't make me feel guilty! I don't want to lose anyone else to Motoyasu! "Though it deeply pains me to admit it, not even I as the lord can accept any further taxation."

"But why do I have to fight?" I glanced at Motoyasu. "I refuse to have another fight with any of the Heroes."

"Then the duel will be a race between the Spear Hero's dragon and-" Malty gasped as she looked at Filo and Lial. "A-A Knight's Dragon?! How the hell do you have a Knight's Dragon?" Malty fumed as Lial hid behind me with being pointed at.

"I won a lottery." I petted Lial as Filo glared at Malty and the dragons. "If it's a race…" I looked at Filo. She seemed flared up and wanting to get at the dragons. I thought I had nipped that problem in the bud...

"Please! Shield Hero, we'll give you a reward if you win!" Damn, even after all the rebuilding they have ahead of them, they are still offering a reward? If they are this desperate… Then Malty and Motoyasu would be...

"Okay… Seems I have no choice, but to accept." With the fury in Malty's eyes… I can't leave her here to do what she wants. Not after her father's and her actions led to Kaus' death in the first place.

"That message sure bent her out of shape," Matthew said.

"Why is she taking it out on you?" Iruka-sensei asked as I turned to Filo and Lial.

"No clue," But it does make me worry about not knowing the why. "Filo. Lial. Which one of you want to race?"

"Gah!" Both chirped out and then looked at each other. They both stared and chirped at each other as if they were bickering.

"Hah!" My eyebrow twitched as Motoyasu got off his dragon and walked over to us. "A pink dragon? And a bird? That is so lame." Both Filo and Lial's eyes twitched. "How can you possibly keep up with my dragon with those girly creatures." Motoyasu smiled and instantly regretted it. Filo reeled back and kicked him right in the crotch. He was sent flying into a pile of hay.

"Sir Motoyasu!" Malty screamed, "Healing magic! Hurry!"

"Right away!"

"That's… gonna… leave a… bruise."

"You cheater!" Malty pointed at me.

"It's his fault forgetting for getting too close," I snickered and found Filo snickering with me. "Guess you deserve the race, Filo."

"Gagh!" Lial looked at me teary eyed.

"I don't think they will allow me to use clones to ride you both." I petted Lial.

"Clones?" Malty asked before she smirks. "Of course and we ban you from using the Knight's Dragon as it can fly!"

"Hold it right there, Malty." The masked lady got between us. "We will allow the Shield Hero to ride both beasts. The Tyrera the Spear Hero specializes being on land."

"But that's just pushing the favor to the Shield Hero!" Malty hissed out.

"You may enter the race as well if you want to even it up." The masked lady said.

"If I join, the Shield Hero can't use a clone!" Malty grinned and pointed at Matthew. "He has to use that slave!"

"Malty, you have to give-"

"Let's start the duel!"

"Sorry, Matthew," I sighed as I got both Filo and Lial ready to ride. "I didn't mean to drag you into this."

"It is not a problem, Master." Matthew petted Lial." I guess I'm riding the dragon?"

"Yeah. You'll have an easier grip with Lial than Filo." I shuddered at a memory of the day before when I almost fell off Filo. "Lial, take good care of Matthew."

"Gah!" Lial chirped as we got into a line with the Spear Hero and Malty.

"The race will be three laps around the outskirts of the village." The governor got before us. "Whoever reaches this gate first will be declared the winner."

"I'm sure Sir Motoyasu and I will win." Malty chimed as she gripped her reigns.

"Master Naruto, good luck!" Raphtalia cheered from the sidelines. "Matthew and you can do it!"

"On your marks," The governor held up both of his hands. "Go!" He shouted as he brought both hands down and our monsters bolted into a dash.

To my surprise, Filo took the lead with ease, Lial wasn't far behind I turned back to see Motoyasu and Malty trailing behind.

"Go Filo! Let's win this!"

"Gah!" I grinned before felt something. I looked to the ground and catch sight of a hole appearing in the ground. "Filo, look out!" I pulled Filo reigns and it dodged the hole at the cost of speed.

"Gagh!"

"Matthew!" Lial and Matthew fell to the ground after hitting the hole.

"Now is my chance!" Motoyasu shouted as Myne and he passed us up as I went back and helped Matthew up.

"What chance? They are cheating!"

"Master, forget about me," Matthew groaned.

"As if!" I helped him back up onto Lial. Filo and Lial launched right back into the race. Motoyasu took the first lap, but not without Filo nipping at his dragon's tail.

"Oh, no you don't." Myne chanted and turned to me. "Faust Wind Blow!" She fired an orb of wind at me. If I dodged… It would hit Matthew.

"Filo!" I raised my Light Metal Shield and took the attack. Filo cried out and pushed through it without losing speed.

"What the?" Malty gasped in shock and then turned to the front with a bitter look.

Oh no… Another feeling. Where was it- "As if!" I rode to the far lane and saw a glow of light where Filo and I were before.

"He dodged the curse?!" Malty screamed came from behind me as Filo and I burst into the lead to take the second lap.

"Filo! Lial! You got this!" Raphtalia shouted… Wait? Where's Iruka-sensei? "You only got one last lap to go!"

"That foul beast!" Malty roared out her chant. "I, the next queen, am the source of all power. May the entire universe hear my words and heed them! Burn my enemy, Faust Fireball!"

Dammit! She aimed the fireball right at Matthew! My hands flashed through hand seals.

"Substitution Jutsu!" I switched places with Matthew but had no time to raise my shield. I got a face full of fire and screamed out in pain.

"Got him!" Malty cheered before the smoke cleared and I glared at her… My sight was blurry and it hurt so much, but I could sense where she was at and heard her horror-filled gasped with seeing the fury on my burned face as steam came off the skin.

"Thanks, Old Self," I whispered with the pain easing and Lial realized I was on it. "Lial, let's go!"

"Gaagh!" Lial chirped and sped up. I felt magic again, but it was aimed at Motoyasu? I vaguely saw his dragon and he glowed, making them move faster.

"Dammit! Support magic!" Matthew growled as he was being pushed to the outside by Motoyasu. I felt magic again and saw another hole pop up next to the one before due to the magic left there… And Matthew was heading straight for the holes.

"No, you don't!" I held out my hand. "Air Strike Shield!" I summoned a shield over one of the holes and Filo ran right across it and used the hill in the curve to turn without losing speed. It was neck to neck between Matthew and Motoyasu from what I could sense.

"Alright! Jump, Lial!" I shouted and Lial leaped into the air and soared over the holes before continuing its gallop. Filo and Matthew finally broke to the lead and took the finish line by a body length.

Motoyasu came in second with me third. Malty came up last and fuming.

"I… won?" Matthew asked as I rode up to him.

"Yeah."

"Master! Your face!"

"Whoa! Road burn!" Motoyasu flinched as I took out some healing medicine and smothered my face once I got off of Lial. Damn, that fire spell actually took a dent into my health points even with the Magic Defense Up(small). "Wait, you're healing fast?!"

"Shut it, Motoyasu." I snarled through the pain. Though, I probably freaked him out with sending a scowl in his direction.

"Brilliantly done," The governor said in a cheerful tone. "Because of your companion and you, we can rest easy and focus on rebuilding the village." Hm? I heard gasps from the governor and villagers.

"You want to thank someone, thank Filo and Matthew." I patted on Filo with my eyes still closed as the medicine did its job. Wait… I patted the bird and realized there was a wall of fluffy feathers instead of a neck or head.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and blinked a few times to clear the blurriness that was Filo. I looked up to find the bird was now huge. Its neck had shrunken into its body, making it look like an owl.

"Master!" I turned to Matthew and found Lial had undergone a similar transformation. Its upper arms were smaller than its back legs. The dragon was more… pudgy than what the other dragons looked like.

"What in the," I looked back and forth between Filo and Lial. "Just what did Beloukas give me?!"

"You cheated!" My shock was broken by Malty. "You didn't tell your Filolial and Knight's Dragon was really something else entirely!" Malty put her hands on her hips and glared at me.

"But they only transformed after the race was over." The governor explained as he went towards Malty.

"If anyone cheated, it was you guys." I crossed my arms at an attempt to control myself. "What about the holes in the road?"

"Holes? Don't be ridiculous." Malty put her hand on her chin with a laugh. "If anything, you used magic in this duel, so you cheated."

"The Shield Hero is correct." The masked lady and her group appeared before Malty. "We have detected traces of magic on the course. Including your own attacks."

"It was," Malty pointed at me. "It was him! It was obvious that criminal and his demi-human used illegal magic."

"Untrue." The masked lady said before Iruka-sensei appeared before both Malty and her. He dropped two knights that were tied up to the ground.

"These two cast… magic." Iruka-sensei said as the masked lady nodded to him.

"Good work, my comrade." The masked lady turned to Malty. "The Shield Hero's affinities are support and healing. His slaves have completely different types to the magic we found." The masked lady stood up. "Thus it is clear the Spear Hero's party had cheated."

"Tch!" Malty clicked her tongue and gritted her teeth. "Well, we will leave it this time, but we will win next time." Malty huffed as she turned away.

Isn't she… acting like a typical villain from some kid's manga? I fought hard not to laugh at the funny attempt at proving her authority.

"Remember, I let your comrade win." I turned to Motoyasu, "If not for him, I would have won. It won't happen the next time." He then turned furious, "And next time you won't have that fat tub of-"

"Hey now, how's the crotch?" I glanced down with an evil grin.

"Eeer." Motoyasu growled but took a step back from me. "Well, you-I will get you yet!" Motoyasu turned and left with a limp.

"Did you really have to remind him of such pain?" Raphtalia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"Do remember… Kaus is…" I bit my lip as fury burned in my chest while looking at the receding back of Motoyasu. "If he can't be punished properly… I'll punish him my own ways." I let a grin form on my face.

I still needed the Spear Hero to save the world. That didn't mean I couldn't make his life a living hell after what his actions did to Kaus.

"Even if it  _is_  giving the guy a low blow?" Raphtalia groaned as she smacked her forehead.

"Something is better than nothing," I said as I closed my eyes. Not that there wasn't a way to bring Kaus back… Not permanently as I remember a jutsu from the scroll hidden on my back. I wonder if I can make it work without a sacrifice… Even if it didn't last long, I could share one last meal with Kaus as I promised him a special meal.

"Sir Hero," We turned to the governor. "Again, the whole village thanks you very much. We don't know how to express our gratitude for everything you have done for us."

"It's no problem," I held out my hand. "And the reward?"

"Sir Hero, we're going around the village collecting money, right now. Please wait a few more days to-"

"I don't want money." The governor looked at me in shock. "You all still have to rebuild your town and will need all the funds you've got to do it." That and if that Malty had her way, she probably spread rumors that I took all the villagers' money. Best not give the Bitch Princess fodder.

"But, Sir Hero, how can we properly repay you?" The governor asked and I felt a pat onto my head.

"Gweh!" I looked up and found Filo pointing at something.

"A… carriage?" I asked and the governor gasped in shock. "Can we get two carriages as our reward?"

"Absolutely!" The governor perked up. Before we knew it, we had two covered carriages and two happy monsters pulling them.

* * *

"Gweh gweh gweh!" Filo sang as I held onto reins. The Filolial was very happy to be pulling a carriage. Iruka-sensei was in the carriage behind me with Lial pulling it and the dragon sang along with Filo.

"Sorry, Master Naruto, could we stop for a little bit. Just for a second." I glanced back and saw Raphtalia's face turning green. Matthew rubbed her back, but it wasn't working.

"Heel, Filo," I pulled back on the reins and slowed Filo down. Raphtalia leaped out of the wagon and ran to the bushes.

"Oh, boy, guess we are staying here tonight." I sighed as I heard the poor girl throw up. We built a campfire and I made a soup from herbs for Raphtalia.

"I'm sorry about this." Matthew helped Raphtalia lay down. "I didn't mean to make you all work when I rested all day."

"Hey, it's alright." I cooled the soup and fed her some of it. "We are going to be traveling by carriage. You need to find a way over your motion sickness."

"I'll try," I fed her some of the soup before sealing it away.

"Your face is a little red. You have a fever?" I put my hand on her forehead.

"N-No." She turned on the sleeping mat. "Filo and Lial look real happy pulling carts."

"They sure do." I smiled as both the bird and dragon chirped with joy.

I pulled out a thin plate of metal from my pocket and looked at it. "A traveling merchant, huh?" I remembered back to the governor's words as he handed me the pass. It was supposed to exempt the holder from tolls across the country. "To think a missing-nin would run a traveling business and fighting monsters. Still... Not too bad. We could probably earn back the money for the debt payoff easily as merchants."

"I'll do my best, too." I smiled at Raphtalia.

"Go ahead and get some sleep. I'll be the first watch."

"Okay."

"Wake us up if you need us." Iruka-sensei and Matthew laid down their sleeping mats as well.

"Huh?" I blinked as Filo nuzzled up to me on one side and Lial took the other side. They both fell asleep next to me. "Jeez, Filo, your feathers are stuffy as hell. You realize that?"

"Meanie." I heard a voice as darkness engulfed me during the night.

"Master Naruto!" I heard Raphtalia's cry. "Master Naruto!" I opened my eyes and found it was daylight. Raphtalia, Matthew, and Iruka-sensei looked at me with shock and confusion.

"Whoa, I'm sorry." I yawned and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "I fell asleep on the job." I sat up some and placed my hand on… Something soft like hair? I moved my other hand, yet felt the soft hair there as well.

"What the?" I looked down and found two blonde haired girls sleeping, one on each side and using my legs as pillows.

"What the?!" I leaped up and backpedaled across a stump and right back on my rear end.

"Master Naruto, those girls are…" Raphtalia forced a smile. The two girls yawned and sat up. They looked to be ten-year-old twins with matching blue eyes… They both turned to me and smiled. As they did, one unfurled a pair of white feathered wings while the other had a pair of pastel pink bat-like wings.

"Master! Hey!" The white-winged one cheered. "Good morning!"

"Good… morning!" The pink winged one yawned as she stretched. "Master…" I stood there in shock.

Just… Just  _where_  did these two girls come from?!

" _Who_  the heck are they?" Raphtalia screamed out and pointed at me. Oh, boy. I recognized the expression of fury on her face.

"How would I know?" I shouted back. I was just as perplexed as everyone else… And why was Raphtalia was mad? What did I do?

"Can I have something to eat?" The white-winged one chimed out as she smiled.

"Food, please." The pink winged one said as she hugged the white-winged one's arm.

* * *

"Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!" I screamed as I slammed my fist on the weapon shop door.

"What is going on?" Uncle opened the door and glared at us. "The shop's already closed… Huh?" Uncle's eyes landed on the two girls wrapped in blankets.

"Master, who is this man?" One girl pointed at Uncle.

"Who?" The other mimicked.

"Be quiet! And don't point at others!" I roared in frustration. "I'm sorry to interrupt you at night, but this is urgent."

"And how is that?" Uncle sighed at me. "Are you here to brag about buying new slaves?"

"No, I'm not!" I huffed out.

"Hm?" Both girls perked up. "It smells of food!"

"Oh, I was fixing a late dinner." Uncle turned and pointed at a long sandwich that had been cut in half. "You two want a bite?"

"Really?"

"Yay!"

"Wait!" I shouted, but it was too late. The two girls each grabbed half of the sandwich.

"What's wrong? How big of a bite can those two take?" Uncle laughed, but it didn't last long when both girls popped in a puff of smoke and shredded cloth.

"Thanks for the food!" FIlo and Lial chimed out and both swallowed their halves of the sandwich in one big bite. "Hm… The taste wasn't very good." Filo sighed out.

"Not tasty," Lial added.

"Hey! You ate all of the Boss's food!" Raphtalia scolded the Filolial and dragon.

"Sorry. I'll make up for this later." I took in a deep breath. I had to calm down... Oh, screw it. "First of all, Firo! Lial! Turn back to human form now!"

"I'm full, so I'll do it later." Filo let out a burp.

"Later, later," Lial hummed.

Dammit. I have no choice. I was really trying not to do this.

I opened up my status and went to the monster crests. "I've had enough! Change this instant! It's an order!"

Complex shapes appeared on Filo and Lial's chest and sparked.

"Ouch! Ouch!" Both screamed out before smoke engulfed and they turned back into little girls wearing shredded cloth.

"Uwaaaaa! It hurts!" Filo cried with Lial.

"So what's the story here?" Uncle sighed as Filo and Lial recovered from their crests. Both pouted and gave me watery eyes. I glared the two girls down.

"The slave merchant said Filolials have a King or Queen leading each flock. That's what he told us anyway." Raphtalia said with a sigh. "Aren't you being too tough on them?"

"No. They need to listen." I huffed out. Though, don't guilt trip me. I already feel horrible having to use the crests on two little girls. At least with Raphtalia, I only needed to use it once. These two were a whole different story!

"I thought that was only a myth," Uncle said in awe.

"Those Kings and Queens are highly skilled in transforming and they blend into the flocks by disguising themselves as normal Filolials." Matthew sighed.

"And they can transform themselves into humans, too," Uncle said in shock. "That's nuts… Wait, what about that dragon?" Uncle pointed at Lial.

"Dragons are mysterious creatures, so not much is known. But that… man believes that maybe dragons, too, have Queens and Kings like Filolials," Matthew shuttered. "That or dragons have the ability to transform, but never do unless they want to."

"Worse, normal monster crest doesn't work on either of them," I gritted my teeth in frustration. "I had to get a stronger crest on both of them to keep them in line! I hadn't budgeted it for that!"

"Boo!" Filo cried out, "You won't sleep with Filo and Lial in these humans forms, Master!"

"What the?" My eyebrows twitched at the pouting girls. It was bad enough these two could transform. Both of them seemed to be in a bit of a rebellious phase to where neither would listen to me if I didn't have the high-level crests put on them. "If I hadn't haggled and got both of their crests for 600 silvers, we would have ended up in more debt!" I groaned.

The masked lady appeared and offered to pay for the crests, but I quickly blackmailed - I think that is the right term - Beloukas about spreading bad rumors that he misrepresenting his products considering Filo and Lial were not the normal Filolial and Knight's Dragon he said they were. He gladly changed his tune and gave us a two for one deal along with a small discount… That left us with only around 100 silvers.

All the way back to square one and just when we were so close to having the money to pay back my benefactor! Just thinking of it fouled my mood.

"Things got crazy trying to give them that crest. " Raphtalia sighed, "Both of them resisted with all their might and almost broke the crests."

"That's at… level 19." Iruka-sensei pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who knows how… strong they will… be at 70 or something."

"So, you didn't just come here during my off hours to show me this Filolial Queen and Dragon Queen?" Uncle asked.

"We came to buy some clothes," I answered.

"Clothing?" Uncle raised an eyebrow.

"If they keep on shredding their clothes, we are going to go broke," I said as I picked up the pieces of cloth on the floor. "I never known transformations here affected clothes.

"Please tell us there is some kind of outfit made for transforming species," Matthew said with a frown.

"Nah. Those are special order items." Uncle said as he shrugged. "I ain't got any of those. Try seeing a dressmaker." Uncle snapped his fingers. "But, you can't have those two walking around in public looking like that," Uncle reached under the counter and pulled out two simple dresses. "Another customer left these… And I best write down the directions to a dressmaker I know."

"Thanks, Uncle," I sighed and we left once things were in order… Including giving Uncle some of our leftover food to repay him for his dinner.

Once morning came, we hit the dressmaker bright and early.

"Oh my god! They are so cute!" The dressmaker squealed with looking over both Filo and Lial. "Aren't they the cutest little angel and devil! Wait for a second, they have wings on their backs so maybe they really are a little angel and devil!" Raphtalia laughed sheepishly at the dressmaker's energy.

"Master, am I really cute?" Filo asked as she spun around to look at me. She wore a pink dress that was a little big on her.

"Lial cute?" Lial wore a similar dress, but it was a pastel blue. "Filo and Lial wanna know."

"Ah…" I mean, they did look like cute little girls… But, they were just born days ago and look like ten-year-olds. "Maybe?" Does it make me like those creepy old dudes that like children, but with me being twelve?

"Father, you shouldn't talk like that." The dressmaker scolded me.

"F-Father?" Raphtalia recoiled.

"You need to answer more clearly! Compliments are important to little girls. Helping them become even cuter when they are older." The dressmaker chimed.

Wait… Is that why Raphtalia was so rough around the edges? Shit! It's my fault she doesn't match her physical cuteness! I should have complimented her more!

"Then are you Filo and Lial's father or something else?" Filo asked and Lial nodded with the question as she held onto Filo's arm.

"Ah… Help?" I looked at Matthew and Iruka-sensei.

"You did hatch them." Matthew chuckled at my discomfort.

"Take responsibility." Iruka-sensei… He gave me an evil smirk. "They are… your children."

"… Thanks," I groaned. "I am… your father.  _Adopted_  father." I quickly added. I do  _not_  want to even think of these two monsters girls getting the wrong idea that I was their biological father…. Even if we looked identical in hair and eye color… Did they use me as the reference for their transformations? "That or whatever you want." A dad at twelve years old. I'm not ready for this responsibility. I haven't hit pu-Oh, yeah, I shot past that stage and look like an adult. Man, has this level up growth ever screwed up with my sense of age!

"I see. What about Raphtalia?" Filo asked with a cocked head.

"What is Raphtalia?" Lial pouted with confusion.

"What do you mean?" I blinked and looked to the two monster girls.

"What is Raphtalia to you?" Filo rephrased the question and hugged Lial. "Is she like Lial, my sister?"

"That's…" My face heated up. What was my relationship to Raphtalia? I mean, I never really got along with the girls at the academy to know what differences were the relationships with boys? I tried being sweet and such like the manga says to Sakura-chan and that didn't end well.

What was love, anyway? I thought I loved Sakura-chan, I always crushed on her… But that seemed to have died away when my hopes came crashing down. And I can tell Raphtalia has some weird… reactions to me that I just don't get. I never have seen the other girls act like that towards me. Some of it was similar to how the girls acted to Sasuke and some other boys, but it is not clear like those girls.

But did I feel similar to Raphtalia? I mean… I don't know… I'm so confused.

"Well?" Raphtalia smiled at me.

"She's… like family to me. Like a sister?"

"I am  _not_!" I flinched at Raphtalia's protest. Damn. Did I say the wrong thing? I really don't get these conflicting emotions at all.

"Anyways, that doesn't matter," I hoped Raphtalia forgives me for saying the wrong thing. Was I mistaken about how close we were? "We are just looking for clothes that don't rip to shreds when you two transform and go back to normal." And I wondered if I might need some. I noticed I gained a little height since after the Wave and it scared me. I was almost the same height as Iruka-sensei.

"Oooh!" The dressmaker gasped. "So that's what you are looking for? Did you bring any magic thread?"

"Magic thread?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Of course. Transforming clothes always use threads made from the user's own mana."

"So that means transforming clothes are always custom made?" Raphtalia asked in awe.

"Of course. If you can give me the magic thread, I promise to make the cutest outfits you'll ever see in your entire life!" The dressmaker declared with passion and excitement.

Wow… Uncle sure knows the weird ones… I think I'll call her Sister since she is this willing to help us.

"Magic threads?" I whispered out and had an idea.

"Magic thread, huh?" Auntie smiled at us when we asked her about it. "You certainly can spin them here, but," Aunt looked towards a spinning wheel on the counter behind her. A frown on her lips. "Unfortunately, right now isn't a good time. I'm afraid the magic gemstone in my spinning wheel broke."

"Is it expensive?" I gulped. Could I afford the cost to supply another one?

"It is." Aunt sighed out, "But the bigger problem is that it is hard to find."

"Is there anything we can do about it?" Raphtalia asked.

"I'll talk to some people and see if I can procure a new gemstone as soon as possible." Aunt smiled at us. "It might take a bit longer, but I'll try my best."

"Hey!" We looked down to see Filo and Lial entranced by Aunt's crystal ball, "Whoa! What does this thing do?"

"What's it do?"

"This crystal ball measures one's magical affinities." Aunt held out her hands over the crystal ball. "Why don't we measure your affinity?"

"Really?" Both girls asked.

"Let's see. The little angel has Wind affinity and the little dragon girl has Fire and Wind affinities."

"Lial not like Filo?" Lial asked with teary eyes.

"No! Better! You got two while I only have one!" Filo pouted before she smiled. "Filo can handle the wind while Lial handles the flames!"

"Okay… But Lial wants to learn Wind with Filo," Lial shrunk into herself.

"We can learn together!"

"That means we got to teach them the language." I felt a little green. I was still getting the language down myself. Now I had to teach my two new daughters how to read and write?

"Oh well… Guess we are stuck without outfits for Filo and Lial for a while." Matthew nervously looked at me. "Should we see if we can find a cheap seller for spare dresses?"

"Yeah," I pinched the bridge of my nose. I needed to make medicine and get our merchant business going. If we don't start earning money, we would be broke in no time.

* * *

"The Shield Hero!" The clothes seller glared at me. "I will  _not_  sell to a  _felon_!"

"Get  _out_  of here, scum!"

"Eek! We're closed!"

"The hell?" I raised an eyebrow as everyone we tried to buy clothes from rejected us, either from hatred or outright fear. "It's worse than when they thought I was a demi-human."

"News from the castle?" Raphtalia pointed at a bulletin board where a very official looking poster on it. We got closer and my blood boiled as I read it.

It was a public service announcement from the royal court. To summarized the document, it said the Shield Hero was a murderer and dangerous. I was a felon convicted by the courts. There was more, but I couldn't read it with how furious I was.

"What in… Why is the king doing this?" Matthew asked with a pale face. "Don't he realized what this-"

"He does," I said. King Melromarc was like the Old Man: passive-aggressive masterminds. They could pull the strings and easily make a person fall to ruin by the person's own devices. "I bet he had these spread across the kingdom." I took out my knife and carefully cut down the poster. I rolled it up and stashed it into my hip pouch.

"Master Naruto?" Raphtalia asked as I walked away from the board. "W-What are we going to do? You aren't a murderer!"

"Yeah. There is something we can do." Matthew added, "There's no way this is legal."

"It's legal," I said as we reached Uncle's shop. I don't know the legality of the criminal system, but I do know the rules of false information. Damn, even I used Konoha's public bulletin boards for pranks against some of the shops that wouldn't serve me. As well as I have seen some quite hilarious, well-executed pranks that the upper ninja ranks have done with the boards, too. This was the one game even civilians could pull off and often did if I remember a little of Iruka-sensei's misdirection class.

Add in King Melromarc specially chose to use a public service announcement made it all the harder to prove it was false even with proof. Who in their right mind would go against an official warning from the higher-ups of a country against someone they don't know?

"Welcome!" Uncle said as we entered. However, his face twisted to shock at seeing me. I wonder why? "Little Shield, you alright?"

"Yes." I sighed as I walked up to Uncle. "I need to buy some overstock clothes you have in."

"Why don't you just go to a-" Uncle went wide-eyed as I looked at him. "Kid… Just what happened?"

"I just need spare clothes for Filo and Lial." We fell into King Melromarc's trap and paying the price. If I let my emotions control me, then that man will win.

I won't take the bait a second time.

"O-Okay. I guess I can let go of a few shirts for a few coppers."

"Thanks." I gave him the coins and he handed me a sack full of clothes. I looked at the sack for a moment and then put it down.

"Hey, is there something-"

"Transformation Jutsu!" I engulfed myself with smoke and looked at Uncle right at eye level.

"What? You turned into me?" Uncle gasped at me as I scowled at Tate-chan on my arm.

"Sorry. Just had to test something," I said in Uncle's voice as I moved Tate-chan from my arm to my hip. If I moved it to my back… No, it would look odd. If only- "That's it!" I quickly had Tate-chan change into the Rope Shield.

"What the? How did your shield do that?" Uncle asked as I popped back to myself.

"It's the Legendary Shield."

"It can do that?" Uncle said with awe. "Well, I'll be. If you keep it like that, no one will know you are a hero."

"That's the point," I smirked and picked up the bag. "Hey, Uncle, be careful. I am not favored by the king."

"Gotcha. Be safe."

"We are heading back to Lute Village." Al of the group looked at me in shock. "We will start our merchant business there."

"What?" Iruka-sensei said, "They can't buy… anything!"

"Yeah! Why-"

"Who said I was selling?" Everyone looked at me with confusion. "I'm buying," I said with a grin on my face.


	9. Chapter 9

Our first client was before we even left the castle town. Aunt wanted a ride to Lute in our carriages and she paid us 25 silver for the ride. That 25 silver went to procuring various goods from the villagers of Lute along with my remaining 100 silvers. My clones gathered herbs and made medicines, Filo and Lial got extra food thanks to carrying wood for the village, and we all practiced our roles for the business plan till the day we left Lute to start our new adventure as traveling merchants.

The first thing we sold was medicines and the various knick-knacks like balls, tools, and monster materials. Since we didn't have that big of a selection, we set our prices a little lower than market value. We would then stock up on herbs and supplies either by buying or collecting before we left for the next village. I had my clones and myself work on compounding new medicines and processing whatever I could from monsters we defeated.

The meat, of course, went to feed us all. That also included the plant-based monsters becoming our vegetables and fruits.

"Why are books so hard?" I mumbled as I wrote notes from the book Doc gave me. It didn't help some of the recipes I got from it I already know from experimenting.

"Master Naruto, you only began learning to read less than a month ago," Raphtalia said as she held Filo's reins. She had gotten better with her motion sickness and driving the carriage of late. "The fact you can read so much in a short time is amazing."

"Yeah, but it's no good if it can't help us." I furrowed my brows at the characters before me. At least this world's language was easier than Kanji. "It will be a little while before we get those clothes for Filo and Lial. I don't know how much it will cost, so we need to make as much money as we can."

"Father, look!" Filo got my attention and I glanced over her. "There's someone up ahead."

A man was desperately running, yet he seemed out of breath and a bit pale. Overexertion? We rode up next to the man and he slowed down to a stop. He took in deep breathes as he bent over.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Raphtalia asked as I put down the book and walked over. The man looked at us with urgency.

"Please, I beg of you, give me a lift in your carriage!"

"Huh?" Raphtalia blinked at the man as he looked down the road.

"I need to get this medicine to the village quickly!" He held a bottle up in his hand. "It's the one just beyond the mountains. It's urgent, I pray you."

"Just beyond the mountains, huh?" I think I could see it from here. "Lial, do you think you can fly us there quickly?"

"Lial can… But do Lial have to?" The dragon pouted. "Lial don't like flying."

"It's urgent, so we gotta get there fast." I could tell this man was running on fumes. This medicine must have been very important for him to push himself this hard.

"O-kay." Lial sighed and Matthew disconnected her from the back carriage.

"I'll take you there myself." I took Lial's reigns and sat on her back. "The payment will be one silver."

"Huh?" The man gasped and looked at the bottle of medicine. "I already… spent all my money on this medicine."

Damn. What kind of medicine was that to be so expensive? The guy wasn't exactly poor from what I seen of his clothes. Still…

"It doesn't matter how you pay me, just don't worm your way out of it," I said as I moved Lial around Filo's carriage.

"A-A dragon?" The man's eyes lit up at the sight of Lial and me. "That would be fine, sir." I helped the man onto Lial's back. "Thank you."

"Save your thanks." I mean, if I go there and the people the medicine for was dead, then this was worthless to both of us. "Just pay up when the time comes. Hold on."

"R-Right."

"Lial, let's go!"

"O-kay." Lial hummed out as I used my chakra to stick to Lial's back. She outstretched her wings, which seemed to grow in size, before she jumped off the path. With a strong downward stroke, we went flying through the air. The man behind me screamed as we cut through the sky. In a matter of minutes, we saw the village gate in the distance.

"Yay! We're here," Lial chirped. She furled her wings as her feet hit the ground and went into a gallop.

"Haul! Stop! You have to pay the toll!" The guard at the village gate shouted. I tossed my pass at the guard and he caught it in shock as Lial jumped over the gate.

"I'll pick it up on the way back!" I shouted as Lial kept at full speed towards the village.

"T-That way," The man pointed the way till we reached a simple house in the village. We dismounted and I was surprised to see weapons on racks within the house. Was this guy in charge of the village's weaponry?

I followed the man into a room and found an elderly lady laying in bed. She seemed to be in a lot of pain and had lost a lot of weight. "Mother, I got you the medicine." The man said towards the bed-stricken lady. She looked at her son with glossy eyes and coughed hard.

"Listen, you go boil some water." The man looked at me oddly. "I'll give the medicine to your mother."

"But I-"

"Relax. It's free. I'm a medicine maker." I explained. "I can give it to her easier."

"Alright." The man handled the medicine and walked out of the room.

Good. No need to explain what happens next to him.

I went to my skills and chose Potion Efficiency Up. I popped the bottle open and helped the ailing mother sit up. I carefully put the bottle to her lips and slowly poured the medicine into her mouth. Once the medicine was drunk, the mother let out a sigh of relief as her body glowed. I watched as life seemingly returned to her face.

"Thank you so much." The mother sat up and smiled at me.

"Mother?" The man came back with a glass of water. "The medicine? It's already working?"

"Yes. The pain was gone in an instant." The mother faced me with now bright eyes. "Thank you, good sir." By the time we finished the mother's treatment, the sun was beginning to drop towards the mountains. I got on Lial and looked down at the man.

"What exactly… What kind of magic spell did you use?" The man asked as he held onto a sack.

"Trust me… It's better you don't know." I glanced to the bulletin board nearby. The public announcement was on there. "Now, that's done…"

"Right," The man held up the sack and offered it to me. "Here, this should be worth around a silver." I took the sack and checked it. There were several strips of jerky with various vegetables.

"Yeah, that will do." I put the sack's strap over my shoulder. "See you later and good health to your mother and you."

"Thank you very much. Safe travels to you!" The man shouted as I rode off. It didn't take long for Lial and me to return to the carriages, but it did take longer as Lial wanted to run instead of fly. Such a strange dragon, considering the fact that she had wings.

* * *

We continued our peddling business with Raphtalia and Matthew dealing with the front and I worked in the back. We would also carry parcels and letters for some extra change with moving from village to village, town to town. Whenever someone needed medicine and was quite ill, I would give it to them directly myself. My Potion Efficacy Up proved to be a very effective skill to have. Especially with my new version of Healing Beverage that restored HP better than Healing Medicine and could heal internal injuries. Though, my experiments to improve the flavor of my medicines hadn't had much success. As we have gotten more funds, I expanded our inventory to include basic need goods when I had seen a need in the countryside and towns.

After we'd been at it for two weeks, we began to get a bit of a reputation as merchants with a weird pair of beasts that sold a little of everything. With making such a good name for ourselves, people became more trusting and we had gotten more passenger requests. In your face, King Melromarc!

And, the most important thing of all, we hit the milestone I wanted.

"Good evening, Sir Shield Hero," The masked lady landed next to me. She started to visit weekly for trading information. It was a mutual trade as I refused to be indebted anymore. "How was your peddling?"

"Very good," I held up a plump sack of coins. "I finally have it. The payoff."

"Seriously, Sir Shield Hero, you don't need to repay my liege."

"No. Take it. We still have enough money of you are worried." 500 silvers to be exact. In the bigger towns, we sold off our haul of monster loot, resulting in a big boon to our profit margin.

"Alright, Sir Shield Hero." The masked lady took the bag with a sigh. "Is there anything you wish me to assist you with?"

"Everything has been good," There were actually lots of benefits with this traveling merchant lifestyle.

The first was that I could sell the medicine I made while we were on the road. It has become quite the item I'm known for. The second was that I was able to absorb any monsters that we came across on our travels. Of course, all I really got were status boosts, but I took whatever I could take. Especially with monsters being very different depending on the location.

"Actually, there is something you can help me with," I pulled out the poster and showed it to the masked lady. "How much do you know about this?"

"We reported it to my liege, but I haven't seen the actual posters myself." The masked lady took the poster and read over it. "It's worse than we expected. She has been sending messages for the king to stop this nonsense… Yet it falls on deaf ears. My liege has become so frustrated by this that she started attacking portraits of the king and princess to vent her frustration."

I whistled. Not that I blamed my benefactor. King Melromarc was probably making her job super hard. "Have these been spread throughout the kingdom?"

"Sadly, yes, from what my fellow Shadows report." Even I caught glances of them in the rural villages I passed through with my travels. Thankfully they forgot to put a clear description of me in it or else my job would be harder. "The borders is still guarded too well and it has made my liege's job to keep the peace with our neighbors harder. We Shadows have been working nonstop to ensure my liege's and her daughter's safety at the conference."

"So assassinations attempts?" The masked lady nodded. "Why so? I know summoning all four of the heroes is part of it."

"It is also the false rumors about you along with news of the King's actions towards you." I raised an eyebrow. "Many religions see the heroes as divine beings. For many demi-humans countries, they worship the Church of the Shield. They have been very vocal about… your abuse in this country."

"And I'm to assume here I'm not worshiped as a hero."

"You are sharp, Sir Shield Hero," The masked lady said. "My liege follows the Church of the Four Heroes, but Melromarc mostly worships the Church of the Three Heroes."

"So that was why you said they were safe." I crossed my arms and looked over my sleeping party. Iruka-sensei stood watch for me. "Those members… they wear this weird symbol like this." I made a cross shape in the air.

"Yes."

"They have control of the clock." I noticed the odd decorations on those women. It seemed to be a cross made from a spear, sword, and bow… It was also on the church building's front.

"It may be hard for you to get a class-up if that is the case."

"How?" I asked in shock. "What's in that process?"

"One has to have a class-up done at the Dragon's Hourglass to break the level cap. It increases one's abilities as well. Have any of your party reached the limit yet?"

I checked my status magic.

**Naruto Uzumaki Lv.35**

**Raphtalia Lv.38**

**Matthew Lv.35**

**Iruka Umino Lv.41**

**Filo Lv.32**

**Lial Lv.32**

Wow. Filo and Lial's level shot up and almost matched my level. As for-Wait a second…

"Iruka-Sensei?! Check your status magic!" I hissed a whisper to him.

"Why?" Iruka-sensei asked and his eyes widened. "I broke… the cap?"

"Somehow," I looked back to the masked lady. "Iruka-sensei is past level 40."

"It must be due to the fact he is from another world like you." The masked lady nodded. "If you see a star by their level indicator, then a class-up is needed."

"Thanks for the heads up," I pulled out some silver coins and handed to the masked lady. "Are there other Dragon's Hourglasses?"

"Yes. There is one in almost every country," My eyes went wide. "And they are inflicted with their own Waves."

"That bastard of a king is trying to wipe out everyone while protecting his own interests." I bit my thumb in anger. "How are the other countries holding up?"

"Thankfully, some of the Seven Star Heroes have been assisting in the foreign lands' Waves, but it is getting harder and harder for the armies to fight the Waves."

"There are other Heroes?" I asked in shock.

"Yes. The Seven Star Heroes, though, have special weapons that can choose a wielder from this world or another world. However, even they are not expected to be strong enough to fend off later Waves without help."

"Jeez. That means we will have to cross the border sooner or later." King Melromarc is probably aiming for that so he could disguise the assassination as a border dispute. "Who are the King's enemies?"

"Siltvelt has had bad blood with Melromarc for a good while. Shieldfreeden was on better terms, but the heroes summoning changed that. Zeltbull is a country of mercenaries and merchants that keep a neutral stance, but I fear they do not do class-ups from what hear. My liege is currently in Faubley which is the strongest country and was supposed to summon the first hero. And I dare say our relationship with our smaller neighbors are just as bad off."

"So my best bet is to avoid Siltvelt and Shieldfrieden at all costs." That would be where the most trouble with King Melromarc placing the most knights and Shadows at. "This conference your liege is at was to decide who would summon who?"

"Correct." The masked lady sighed, "It has turned from that to a negotiation that could decide peace or war."

"Jeez. How the hell are we supposed to save the world when everyone is screwing things over?" I smacked my forehead. "Take that poster to your liege. Tell the people at the conference and her we may need help with class-ups soon and want to help the other countries. So, tell them to stop bickering about war and start using their minds to figure out how to make it happen without a fucking war. We heroes have been summoned to save people's lives. Making a war out of it defeats the whole purpose for dragging us from another world."

"Yes, sir." The masked lady bowed and disappeared into the shadows.

"Damn. It doesn't look good." Iruka-sensei sighed as I returned to the campfire.

"Indeed… With the debt out of the way, we can focus on building war funds." I sighed as I transformed Tate-chan to a shield.

**Crystal Ore Shield:**

**(ability locked) equip bonus: Fine Crafting 1**

We just left a booming mine town and I fed some of the low-grade crystals that were lying around.

I took out a piece of crystal and tried to polish it. I furrowed my brows when it broke and crumbled. Don't tell me I needed a recipe for crafting gemstones? There goes that money making idea for now.

At least I managed to translate the medicine grimoire. I unlocked a few good shields due to absorbing the poorer products I made. The recipes I figure out were antidote, herbicide, healing salve, restorative medicine, nutritional drink, gunpowder (what was a gun and what did it have to do with powder?), acidic water, magical water, soul healing medicine, and insecticide. I could use additives to change the effectiveness and experiment to find I could tailor medication to a specific illness.

"So, we will keep going," Iruka-sensei sighed as I took out the medicine tome and absorbed it into my shield. "You're not gonna keep the book?"

"I wrote down everything I needed." I looked at the shield I unlocked.

**Book Shield**

**(ability locked) equip bonus: magic power up(small)**

I transformed Tate-chan and found it the Shield looked exactly like a book. That would be handy if not for the very poor defense rating. Best for non-combat uses. "Better that a merchant has a book than a rope." I sighed out before I turned in for the night.

The next day I was swearing.

Why?

**Torrent Shield: conditions met.**

**Blue Torrent Shield: conditions met.**

**Black Torrent Shield: conditions met.**

**Torrent Shield**

**(ability locked) Plant Classification 2**

**Blue Torrent Shield**

**(ability locked) equip bonus: Intermediate Compounding Recipe 2**

**Black Torrent Shield**

**(ability locked) equip bonus: Rookie Compounding**

I just finished translating that damn book! Well, seemed I needed to keep an eye out for plant-based monsters if I wanted to keep improving my medicines.

"You need to synchronize your magic power with the words on the page," Matthew said as I listened to his lecture to Iruka-sensei.

"I'm trying," Iruka-sensei grunted as he focused. "I'm only drawing chakra again." Iruka-sensei sighed in defeat.

"It's alright. If we keep at it, we should figure out how to get magic to work for Master and you."

"I really hope so." I sighed with remembering the result of learning the Fireball Jutsu. Just thinking of it made me wish I had gone into more debt for crystal balls. Especially, when my huge fireball on my first successful attempt could barely damage the monsters we fought. At least I could light up fires now without flint though my control on it is a bit bad when it comes to size.

* * *

"I really can't believe I am riding with our Savior of the Heavenly Beasts!"

"Our Savior of the Heavenly Beasts?" I asked as I looked at my current riding customer. He was a bit of a short man but clearly had some money due to how nice his clothes were.

"Why, yes, you have quite the reputation," The trader said with a big grin. "In two carriages drawn by the gods of domesticated birds and dragons, our savior travels and treats the sick."

Huh? How the heck did this happen? I was just trying to earn a quick buck while hiding I am the Shield Hero. The bonus was it helped people, so getting the money didn't feel scummy considering the other options we could go with since Iruka-sensei and I are missing-nin…

Okay, I actually like being a doctor of sorts. I even invested in some books about healing and the body to better serve the people.

How the hell did it turn into such a good thing, though?

"Did he say Filo is a god?" Filo asked and got hushed by Raphtalia.

"I'm surprised at you!" Raphtalia hissed out. "Didn't Master Naruto tell you not to talk when there are strangers?"

"Oooo… Sorry," Filo pouted while I actually enjoyed the look of utter shock on the trader's face.

"Well, I'll be. It talks!" The trader gasped out. "That really is a god!"

"No, she's not," I chuckled. "Her sister and she are more gluttons than anything else."

"Huh?" The trader looked at me in confusion. I just went back to studying the magic book. There was something I was missing. I knew there was, but I couldn't figure out what.

"There's a large gang up ahead blocking our path," I looked towards Raphtalia and sensed them. Around fifteen of them... Wait, one was… I got up and met Raphtalia in the front.

Yep. Fifteen men and women in various equipment stood in our way. I glanced up at the tree line at the top of the chasm we were riding through.

"Whoa, now! You can stop right there." The leader of the bunch shouted as we stopped.

"Well, that's an odd bird you got there, stranger." Another one of the thugs barked out. "We heard an accessory seller was hitching a ride with you. Come on! We know you're in there!"

"Oh no!" The trader squeaked and hid.

Oh, boy. I will have to be more careful about choosing my clients. Then again, I heard rumors that a faction of bandits has taken up residence in the wilderness here. I glanced back to see Iruka-sensei gone from the seat of Lial's carriage.

"Just hand him over quietly and you'll get away with just your lives intact."

"Meaning you'll take everything but our lives." I countered back with a frown. Jeez. This is going to be troublesome… Crap, I'm starting to sound like Shikamaru.

"Hah. This one is sharp as a tack, ain't he." No. More like you guys are acting like the manga I read in class at the academy. Heck, you guys even almost quoted word for word what one villain said to a protagonist in the story. How cliche if I could remember it.

"That one's pretty hot for a demi-human!" One of the men laughed. "Looks like we are going to have some fun tonight!"

"Master Naruto, may I have permission to end these fools' lineage?" Raphtalia snarled as she let go of the reins.

"When do you need permission when protecting your dignity?" I snorted with a bit of disgust. "Have at it. But let's even the odds. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"A smokescreen?" The leader gasped out and then snarled. "Don't even think about it! We have a class-upgraded bodyguard that will make mince-" All the bandits' eyes widened as the smoke cleared. Oh, Filo got free from her reins? When could she do that? Or how, with those wings?

Oh, yeah, focus on the danger before me.

"So that's what I was sensing," One of my clones said as we all changed Tate-chan. I personally went with the Chimera Viper Shield. Others went for the Bee Needle Shield and Light Metal Shield.

"W-What the?!" The leader gasped at the total of forty-five mes. "Your magic trick isn't going to fool us!"

"Too bad. You may have lived if you just backed off." I sighed as Matthew finished his chant.

"All Zweite Aqua Shot!" Matthew appeared beside the carriage and a large orb of water appeared above him. The orbs turned into smaller orbs and fired at the bandits. Some of the orbs struck the bandits and did some serious damage. The bandits charged at us and we sprung into action.

"So you're this so-called class-up bodyguard?" I asked the man with the fancier equipment and a better sword than the others.

"You think you can fight me with a shield?!" The bodyguard barked out in laughter as he swung his blade at me. I blocked it and gritted at from the weight of the blow.

"Gotcha!" The bodyguard went wide-eyed when my clone restrained him from behind.

I selected my skill Potion Efficacy Up in my status magic.

"Why you-Huh?" The snakes on my Chimera Viper Shield came to life and bit the bodyguard on the arm and he glowed purple. "What the hell is with that…" His face turned green and his face morphed into terror. "You're the Shield Hero?!"

"Whoever would have guessed it?" I grinned back at the bodyguard.

"As the source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and conceal me utterly in a magic haze! Hide Mirage!" Raphtalia flickered before disappearing before the bandits.

"Where she go?"

"She used-Agh!" Well, that guy learned it was better to act than talk with getting a slash in his chest.

"Lial!"

"Right!"

"I am the source of all power. Hear my words and understand them. Blow them away! Faust Tornado!" Both created two huge tornadoes and the bandits that gotten too close to the carriage were blown away. When these those two learn that magic? They were worse at learning than me!

"What the- Hey! Come out! We need some help!"

"Good luck with that." The leader's eyes froze in terror as Iruka-sensei came out of the forest with some thugs tied up and over his shoulder like sacks. "I've taken care of the backup!"

"Good," I licked my lips and the bandits all shuddered. "Let's end this." I let loose a grin and the remaining bandits screamed and tried to run. Tried being the keyword thanks to my clones' and my skill Shield Prison. We tied them all up and glared them down.

"Some other trader told us to mug the guy riding with you because he was supposed to be carrying a bunch of really nice stuff, I swear!" The leader tried to explain as Filo and Lial eyed the bandits to make sure they didn't do anything.

"So one of my own sold me out, hmm," The accessory trader sighed.

"What are we going to with these guys now?" I asked as I looked at the numbers. I am not sure we could carry them all to the next village.

"We usually hand them over to the local guards, but I'll leave it up to you." The accessory trader said with a frown.

The leader of the group laughed. "You're the Shield Hero, are you? Kinda obvious since you have no weapons and only that shield."

Oh, boy. Here it comes.

It happened all the time back in Konoha. Especially after I became well known as a prankster.

"We're just some unlucky adventurers who were attacked by the criminal Shield Hero and he treated us all like dirt." I voiced out the probable story these guys were thinking up. "That's what you are going to tell the guards?"

"You are the perceptive one." Another man snark. "Then you can bet they would take our word over the Shield Hero, any day." The bandits began to snicker and smirk.

"That's true," The poster was probably given to all form of this country's law enforcement. I let out a sigh. What to do? "Guess I have no choice… You have to die."

That got the attention of the living bandits. There were a few casualties already. Iruka-sensei couldn't knock out every one of the hidden reinforcements safely, so a few died there. Raphtalia and Matthew got a few kills in, too. The only ones who hadn't gotten kill shots so far…

"Filo, Lial, you two feel like a snack?"

"Yes, Filo do! Filo want food!" Filo chirped out.

"Food, Food," Lial chanted while wringing her little claws. All the bandits gasped out and went pale. Some even glanced back and forth between Filo and Lial.

"See, those two are omnivores. They will gulp down anything in one bite." I said with a smirk as they turned their attention back to me.

"Hey! You're the Savior of the Heavenly Beasts! You can't commit murder!"

"Heh," I grinned, "Oh, don't you know? The crime I was charged for was murder." That made whatever blood remained in their faces drained away. "I'm a trained killer from another world. Do you think you could get away that easily? I have to act with the best interests for everyone around me, especially for my family and me, in mind." I narrowed my eyes at the group while I smiled. "You guys must have killed plenty of people so far. Just consider it your turn."

**Exp +1000**

**Raphtalia Exp +900**

**Matthew Exp +900**

**Umino Iruka Exp +900**

**Filo Exp +900**

**Lial Exp +900**

Huh? Where did this experience come from… And boy, it was a good amount. I looked over the bandits and saw the bodyguard head hung loosely with foam coming out of his mouth.

"See, your so-called bodyguard already gave into the poison I used." My first human kill as me... I fought hard to keep the bile in my throat down. I could puke later, I had to keep up the bluff. A few others looked ready to faint as they were, too, poisoned. Though they didn't know it was minor poison.

"No! Wait!" The leader shouted out in panic. "Please! Take anything you want! Let us get out with our lives!"

Oh? What do we have here? "Now, that ain't such a bad idea." I grinned, "I'll spare your lives, at least." The bandits let out a sigh of relief. "However, you better keep your promise to give me whatever I want." All the bandits gulped as they looked at me.

I treated those poisoned - and still alive from it- and I absorbed the bodies of the dead into my shield… I actually unlocked some shields but decided to ignore them out of squick factor. They were mainly status boosts, but I did get one shield that was different.

**Human Shield**

**(ability locked) equip bonus: Human Status Adjustment(small)**

So humans get status based shields, too? I need to unlock that one for Iruka-sensei… Agh… Nausea, stay away. But I need all the boosts…

I distracted myself by focusing on the bandits as they lead us to their hideout. There, the bandits proceeded to bring out all they had as Matthew and I loaded up the carts. Filo and Lial kept the line of bandits in check.

"Are we really looting these bandits?" Raphtalia sighed.

"Yep." Iruka-sensei groaned as he nursed his forehead. "I mean, Naruto and I are missing-nin now… But this is…"

"Doesn't this make us as evil as they are?" Raphtalia shook her head in shame. Sorry for taking this awesome chance to disarm bandits and get a big haul of money and items to sell. Isn't it logical to do this? And why the hell are you siding with Raphtalia, Iruka-sensei? You're a ninja, remember!

"I'm afraid I don't agree," The accessory trader said with a smile. "They are offering up everything they have to purchase safe passage from our savior. He is simply treating their lives as merchandise." The accessory trader grinned with glee. "If I must say, Sir Hero is a shining example of the true trader's spirit. Something lacking in our youth today."

Hey! I was still twelve! I am one of those youth! And why the hell would taking advantage of the situation give me this trader's spirit thing?

"Looks more like intimidation to me."

"That's because it is." Iruka-sensei patted Raphtalia's shoulder. Jeez. Thanks, Iruka-sensei. Maybe you are the one more fit to be Shield Hero than me, no?

How could I not pass up the opportunity to line our pockets? I wish this had popped up earlier as I would have loved to pay off my benefactor with this stuff. Still, money was money and we needed it dearly… As well as there was some nice equipment they were giving up, too. Oh? Some cloth face masks? Awesome! I could...

Wait a second…

"Ah, could you three take a cue and stop chatting?" I felt my eye twitched as I looked at the three. They were next to the carriage just chatting away. "And while we are on the subject… How are you going to compensate me for the pack of trouble for me on this trip?" He should have known better to not travel alone. He should have hired a bodyguard himself!

"I can offer you all the knowledge and connections I possess." The accessory trader bowed to me. "It is at your command."

"Knowledge and connections?" I asked in shock. What did he mean by that?

"Yes," The accessory trader grinned from ear to ear. "I have taken quite a liking to you, Sir Hero!"

"A liking?" I let out half a laugh before we finished collecting the bandits' loot and gear. "Alright. Thank you for your transaction, men and women. Now… Promise me you will change your ways as if I come across you lot again still stealing from and murdering others..." I gave them a smile. "I will personally hunt you down and make you beg for your death."

"Y-Yes, sir." The bandits all gulped and shuttered at looking at me. Good. Hopefully, that bluff I made will solve this area's bandit problem for a little while. We left the bandits at least food and water before we left their hideout.

I wasn't heartless, after all.

"So, about those knowledge and connections?" I asked as we rode in Lial's carriage with Filo's carriage being full to the brim. "How do you use mana?"

"Oh? You can't use magic, Sir Hero?" The accessory merchant asked in shock.

"Both my companion here and I come from a world where something called chakra is used. Not mana." I nodded to Iruka-sensei as I spoke.

"I see… Maybe this will help." The accessory trader reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, translucent object. I felt it brimming with something that wasn't chakra.

"What's this?"

"A piece of very rare ore," He handed it to me and I shivered as it glowed. I felt something… mixed with my chakra. Like it was always there, but I was never able to see it before, with it being just above my chakra.

"I feel weird."

"That's expected. You're feeling your mana for the first time." The accessory seller laughed as I handed the stone to Iruka-sensei. "You can sense mana without the stone's help, but you two never felt it before to know it."

"I think…" I thought of a concept from the book. I pulled on that mysterious… aura in my body and words popped up in my head. "I am the Shield Hero, I order thee. I have read the laws of nature and deciphered them, protect them! Faust Guard!" I become aware of a target marker blinking in my field of vision. I chose myself and found myself covered in soft light.

"Whoa." I looked at my status and saw my defense had risen dramatically.

"See. You seemed to be just missing the feeling for mana." The accessory trader then went into his bag and pulled out a small chest. "Since you can use magic, I'll start teaching you my trade: crafting accessories!"

"Oh!" I smirked before it finally hit me. I ran to the end of the carriage and puked my guts out. Well, at least I managed to last till we were a ways away from the bandit hideout. Hopefully, those guys take my threat seriously as I'd rather not deal with bandits if possible.

I really don't like killing. Good thing I'm becoming quite the medic for a missing-nin.


	10. Chapter 10

The first things the accessory trader taught me was how to process precious metals, use the tools required, craft gems, and imbue them with mana. I even managed to learn more spells from getting used to this mana stuff. I even tried experimenting with imbuing with chakra instead of mana for some interesting results. This includes using imbuing with my compounding.

With this new knowledge and some of the skills from my shield, I started a new business venture: crafting gemstones and accessories.

It seemed gemstones weren't as valuable as they were in my old world, but imbuing a bracelet that would cost normally 30 silvers could jump the price to around 100 silvers. With my clones, it made it profitable to do both compounding and crafting.

Then I got into trader's grapevine of contacts. It was through these vast connections that I finally heard some concrete rumors on where the other heroes were and what they were doing.

It seems Motoyasu saved a famine-stricken village to the Southwest by introducing some kind of legendary crop. I bet that royal pain in the butt of a princess came up with the idea. As far as I have seen, Motoyasu was worse than me when it came to planning things. It made me glad I had Iruka-sensei and Matthew to help me out on that. Matthew was a whiz with budgets and running a shop.

Ren, the Sword Hero, was apparently moving South. He's looking for strong monsters to slay. There was even a rumor he took down a dragon. I was further behind the others than I thought if Ren did indeed manage that feat considering how Lial was.

However, it was the information on Itsuki, the Bow Hero, that was confusing. It was all over the place. Some say he was training up in the mountains. Some say he went into something called a dungeon on a quest for treasure. There were even tall tales like him joining another country's resistance. In the end, I couldn't tell what was true or not, so discarded the information as a loss.

Still, the trader wasn't kidding when he said he was going to give me knowledge and connections. But there was one thing he offered that helped me more than anything else.

"I can't believe this, but this deed must be the real thing." The chief miner said as he looked at the paper I offered him. We were in a thriving mine town and the accessory dealer gave me a deed to this mine. "I'm amazed that grumpy money grubber actually gave this to you."

"Guessed he liked me a lot," I said with a chuckle.

"Anyways, if there's a gemstone you want, I can arrange for you to get it. At a discount, of course, goes without saying. What are you looking for, Sir Hero?" The chief miner asked.

"I'm looking for the gemstone you have to use to make thread from magic." The chief miner looked at me in shock.

"But, sir, right now the only area I know… is filled with dangerous monsters." The chief miner sighed, "We are still looking for a new-"

"Don't care. Just give me the location." I pulled out a sack of coins. "I'll pay you for that location and being allowed to mine my own minerals here."

"I see." The chief miner took the bag of coins. "Let me show you the richest vein first. It will take me a little bit to get the exact location of the magic gemstone you need."

"No, thank you." With my mining skill, I collected a good bit of ore and materials. I even found poorer quality ore near the surface. Didn't unlock any shields, though, due to levels. Once the chief miner got us the exact location of the gemstone we needed, we headed straight back to castle town and picked up Aunt. She could identify the gemstone we were looking for.

"What surprises me is how you managed to find that gemstone so quickly!" Aunt chimed in delight.

"Well, it's not all that simple." I crossed my arms with a pout. "It's in a rather unsavory location."

"Master Naruto," Raphtalia got my attention from Filo's carriage as I was driving Lial's cart. "Look." She pointed ahead and we saw some ruins built into the chasm's walls. We turned just before reaching the temple and found a cave nearby.

"Alright, let's get ready."

"Right!" I went to our storage scrolls as the others unhooked Filo and Lial from their reigns and straps.

"Huh?" I accidentally touched the wrong character and found my old clothes. Just looking at them gave me mixed emotions… Mostly a throb in my heart, urging me to go home… Sadly, a home I may never see again. I wonder… if Kaus wanted to go back to his hometown?

"I wonder if I should have that dressmaker make me some clothes, just in case." I hummed in thought.

"Naruto, you got the torches?"

"One second!" I put the clothes down and unsealed the torches we had bought. I hopped out of the carriage and we lit the touches.

"A long time ago, this temple was once a notorious evil alchemist's base of operations," Aunt said as we entered the cave. "Strange, though. I never heard of anything about a tunnel being here."

"According to the chief miner, no one dared to approach this place ever since monsters started nesting here." I signed as I sensed life deeper in the cave. "Keep your eyes peeled." Everyone nodded at me and kept there hands close to their weapons. The tunnel quickly turned into a room. We found an opened chest at the end of the room.

"It's empty?" Matthew looked at the interior of the chest. Then he noticed the slab next to it. "I think… That's ancient writing?"

"It is," Aunt got closer to the slab. "We fervently pray that this seed never makes it out of this tunnel. It is the horribly twisted manifestation of our wish that nobody feels the pangs of hunger ever again in this world." She read the writing aloud.

"Sadly, it seems some thieves already released it." Iruka-sensei sighed, "This world sure has its share of problems similar to our world. I can just imagine the mission report now."

"Yeah. I heard of some crazy missions from the older ninja." I listened into their stories at the bars to learn anything I could. "Well, it's not our problem."

"Father! Look down there!" We turned to see Filo and Lial pointing. "There's a path over that way."

"That way, that way," Lial added.

"Good. Let's go." I did sense life over there… But I also sensed a great deal of mana. That had to be the gemstone we were looking for. "Filo, Lial, hurry!" I shouted to my monsters who seemed distracted.

"Father!" Both ran over to me. "We might-"

"Stop right here." So Aunt felt it too? I felt a lot of little sources of life, monsters. Then I saw Aunt looked down.

Oh boy. There was a big footprint on the ground. "A monster footprint. A big one at that."

"Just our luck," I felt this was similar. However, where was this monster? I gained quite a range due to training with Iruka-sensei and messing with mana… But I couldn't detect any large monsters. "We're just going to have to keep going till we get what we came for. Just remember-" The torches blew out. I sensed a strange aura engulfed us.

"Genjutsu!" Iruka-sensei shouted.

"Right!" Raphtalia and Matthew shouted and I felt their chakra burst through their bodies. Damn. I needed to-

"Master Naruto, I've been only using you," Raphtalia? "I pretended to become a slave again to gain your trust, but it was all an act. I could stab you right now from behind and kill you. I wanted to kill you with my own hands."

"I hate you, Naruto. You're the Fox, after all. I'll kill you." Iruka-sensei? My stomach dropped. "And you took my chance to be the hero! If it weren't for you, I would be the Shield-"

"Naruto! Calm down!" I felt something in my side and chakra went through my body. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah." Right. I still had the crests on everyone. "This is a damn nasty genjutsu." I glared towards the monsters. "Matthew, fire a spell just before us! In the air!"

"Right. All Zweite Aqua Shot!" His spell struck true and we heard the beasts hit the ground. We re-lit the torches and found them to be some kind of bat. I absorbed it into my shield.

**Voice Gengar (Bat Form) Shield conditions met.**

**Voice Gengar (Bat Form) Shield**

**(ability locked) equip bonus: sound wave endurance (small)**

**Equip Effect: Megaphone**

A megaphone? Really? Well, I could use it for our peddling. But, why did it say bat form? I tensed as we pushed forward. However, with not moving that far into the cave… Everything went pitch black even with a torch in my hand.

"Master! Prepare yourself!" Matthew's voice and I felt a sharp pain in my hand.

"Raphtalia?!"

"Naruto! Are you alright?!"

"Please die!"

"No! No!"

"Calm down, this is the work of the enemy! They've used magic to darken the passage." Aunt shouted. "The monsters are trying to get us off our guard! Don't let them fool you!"

"Easier said than done," I changed my shield.

"Father! Feed me!" Filo?

"Tasty!" Ouch! Something got my shoulder.

"Tch. Look how weak Boss has gotten." Kaus?! "Maybe I did waste my life to save you. How are you gonna repay me!"

"No… It was a trick!" I blocked the attack and heard a squeak when my Two-Headed Black Dog Shield activated its Dog Bite.

"As the source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and restore our sight! Faust Anti-Bind!" Aunt shouted and I was blinded by a bright light. It came from Aunt's wand. I looked down to see a great number of small, rat-like monster scurrying at my feet.

I was okay with scratches, but looking at the others, they were pretty badly beaten up. Nasty buggers to attack in the dark.

"That was a tough genjutsu," Iruka-sensei grunted as he looked over his arms. Bites were all over his arms. "And that was from a monster… I really hope we don't face something like that in the Waves."

"Yeah, I am the Shield Hero, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them! Faust Heal!" Raphtalia glowed green as my healing magic engulfed her.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Genjutsu ain't my strong suit." I sighed as I healed the others. I used healing salve on myself to save on some mana.

I fed some of the monsters we defeated into my shield and unlocked the Voice Gengar (Rat Form) Shield. It also had Megaphone for it's equip effect, but it's equip bonus was Blindness Endurance(small).

I am so unlocking both these shields when I have the chance. Anything to better counter my weaknesses. I activated my skill Alert Shield even with being able to sense the monsters. They were still surprising Iruka-sensei and me.

"Let's keep going." I picked up the torch I dropped.

"Excuse me, Father?" I looked up to see Filo and Lial teary-eyed. "You won't abandon us, will you?" Filo asked fearfully, as Lial hugged Filo out of fright.

"No. You're my daughters. I'll never abandon you two." I sighed. I mean, I have grown up without parents… I wouldn't want anyone, even monsters, to experience the same thing I did. "Let's hurry before the monsters regroup."

We continued down the tunnel and then Filo's feathers ruffled. "Something's there," Lial said and I put the torch down as we reached the end of the tunnel. The room was filled with crystals beaming with mana… And now I could sense it.

Across the room was a monster sleeping.

"That's it." Aunt pointed at the crystal. "And lots of it."

"You. But…" The monster I saw was strong from my senses. It… felt like the Wave… And reminded me a bit of the Chimera boss. It had a monkey's head on a raccoon body with tiger legs and a snake for the tail… A tail that looked right at us.

"That's a Nue. A little on the small size, but still dangerous." Aunt whispered, "But what is a beast from the East doing here?"

"Probably the same situation as that black dog." I sighed out as I prepared my Chimera Viper Shield. "This might be rough." It took awhile for the other heroes to take down the Chimera with their shitty teamwork. "The gemstone is right there for the taking."

"Let's go!" Raphtalia shouted and charged forward with her blade drawn. Filo and Lial followed her into the cave.

"Crap! You guys!" I turned to Aunt and Matthew. "Cover us, please!" I shouted as I launched myself into the cave.

Raphtalia thrust her sword at the Nue and it dodged and gave her a strong kick to her back. The Nue tried to attack when Raphtalia hit the ground, but Filo blocked it with a kick and Lial got a tail whip in on the nimble beast.

"Zweite Fire Blast!" Aunt shouted and unleashed a fire blast on the Nue.

"Zweite Aqua Slash!" A blade of water shot from Matthew and grazed the beast's shoulder. I got before the beast and took its enraged attacks with my shield.

"Potion Efficacy Up," I whispered and smirked as the snakes of my shield bit into it. Yes! He glowed, so it took effect. However, damn this thing was heavy.

Could I hold it back with this shield?

Wait… Were those sparks?

"Yahoo!" Filo landed a kick right in the monster's face.

"Awesome JOB!" I yelped as I was yanked back off my feet, somehow going into the air. "Hey!" I looked up and found Lial had grabbed me. The Nue unleashed a roar and with it lightning covered its body. Filo jumped back in time to avoid it.

"Damn, that was close." We needed to avoid the lightning attack. I felt its strength even with being farther away. But… How can we attack it?

"Fireball Jutsu!" Iruka-sensei got closer and launched a concentrated ball of fire at it. The Nue batted it away with its claws… But I saw Raphtalia case Hide Mirage and try to sneak up from behind.

Tap Tap.

Shit. I saw that the Nue twitched to the sound.

"Stop! Raphtalia!" I shouted out and the Nue shifted. "Look out!" The snake tail lashed out at Raphtalia and forced her to drop her illusion to dodge the quick strikes.

"Sound echoes in here." I went wide-eyed. "Is it sensitive to sound?"

"Maybe. It sure is noisy in here." Filo said.

Noisy… No! Perfect!

I changed Tate-chan to the Voice Gengar(bat form) Shield. It was a shot in the dark to try and was so hilariously ironic considering how I was before.

"Everyone! Cover your ears!" I shouted and pushed chakra into my throat. If it could be used make the air in my throat to fire, couldn't I turn it into wind?

"BAAAAAASSSSSSTAAAAAARD!" I howled through the megaphone with my voice amplified by chakra. Ow! Ow! My eardrums were killing me!

Yes! I did damage! Blood streamed out of the Nue's ears and it staggered from its eardrums being wrecked.

"Kill it now!"

"Zweite Fire Blast!"

"Zweite Wind Blast!" The two spells seemed to merge together, turning into an inferno that engulfed the Nue.

"Hah!" Iruka-sensei and Raphtalia charged and both got it through the stomach. Lial bit into the Nue's neck and knocked it into the ground.

Filo… Did she start gathering her strength and scratching the ground? What was that sound-

Ba-Boom!

Holy shit! Filo launched into the air and she landed a kick to its head as the Nue knocked everyone off it. It was so powerful, I could have sworn I heard the beast's skull shattered and blood and brains splattered as it slammed into the wall behind it.

Wow. Puke time.  _Dammit, Filo!_

"We won!" Filo cheered as she landed. And I tried my best to stop heaving.

"Are you two okay?" I walk up to Raphtalia and Filo once I calmed my stomach down. Lial I already saw escaped the battle with few wounds, if any.

"Yep!" Filo chirped.

"How about you?" Raphtalia asked, but I yanked her arm and found a wound from the Nue's claws.

"I'm fine, but you guys can't be so reckless!" I scolded as I gathered mana. "I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them. Faust Heal." The wound knitted itself back together.

"But I'm-"

"Seriously? What if you were badly hurt? You could be scarred for life." I know that was a big fear amongst the female students at the academy.

"You mean you worry I could have-"

"Got it? I don't know how much my skills and magic can do." I mean, I don't know if my healing back at Lute left the villagers with scars. They had been bedridden from fatigue, so I tried to let them rest.

"O-oh, okay." Raphtalia looked away with flushed cheeks.

"Well, we've won. It seems to have been a child Nue. I think there has been a rich family somewhere that kept it as a pet, but it escaped and become wild."

"What?!" I looked at Aunt in horror. "That's just a child?!" How freaking dangerous was an adult? And why the hell would someone want this thing as a pet?

"Again… I can already imagine the mission report for finding such a beast if it's anything like Lady Shijimi's cat, Tora." Iruka-sensei shuttered. "What is with rich people and run away pets?"

"Wow! So pretty!"

"Pretty, pretty!" Filo and Lial chirped as we all looked the shining crystal formation. "Want, want!" Lial purred on some of the gemstones.

"They're so beautiful!" Raphtalia chimed out.

"And gonna get us a lot of money." I made my cross seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I formed several clones and we went to work harvesting gemstones.

"You're going to take all of it?" Aunt asked in horror.

"No, just a good bit as there is a need for it, as you said before." I chuckled at Aunt. "You're getting your crystal for free in exchange for a discount for making the thread. It's the least I can do as you helped us out so much."

"I see. Thank you." Aunt bowed before she saw Iruka-sensei sealed the gemstones into a scroll. "How did you do that?!"

"It's a technique from our world." Iruka-sensei explained, "It uses a seal to seal away an object into the ink."

"A seal? Like sealing magic?" Aunt's eyes lit up.

"Yes, though seals in our world use chakra instead of mana. I've been experimenting with mana, but haven't gotten far with it." Iruka-sensei sighed. "It's like it unbalances the seals made to be used with chakra.

"Oh ho! You have just given me my next research project!" Aunt slapped Iruka-sensei in the back. "I'll gladly share my research if you share yours."

"Sure. If we can make mana versions of customer storage scrolls, it could be a nice product to sell."

"Indeed! Do you realize how inconvenient it is to take my research materials on the road? Any magician would pay their weight in silvers for such a convenient tool!"

"I know. It made traveling so much easier with how much Naruto makes from just about everything we find."

"Hey! That was an insult, wasn't it!" I puffed my cheeks at Iruka-sensei as I gave him more gemstones. "We can't waste anything! Anything that can be useful to us has to be used."

"Yeah, but you became quite a pack rat due to your sheer volume of producing power." Iruka-sensei gave me a sly smirk. "If not for our scrolls, we might not be able to ride in the carriages."

"Jerk." I huffed.

"So that's why the carriage was so light!"

"No fair… Makes pulling too easy."

"Hey, you two want heavier carriage?!" I looked at the two monsters.

"Yes, please!" I shook my head at both monsters. I could understand Filo with being a Filolial, who go into tantrums without a carriage to pull… At least, that was what the local farmer told me… But Lial was a dragon. Did she see it as a challenge with Filo or is she wanting to copy her Filolial sister?

"Tasty!"

"Tasty! Tasty!"

"What the- No! I haven't butchered it yet!" I scolded Filo and Lial as they tore into the Nue. Both pouted, but they were happy when I fed them some meat after I absorbed some of the beast into Tate-chan. I got some good shields, but not as good as the Chimera series. Still, I will use anything I get.

It was starting to become a motto.

I looked at the crystals in the cave. "Kaus… I will get stronger. Just you see." I whispered as I touched the scroll containing his ashes.

"I think we got plenty." Matthew sighed as Iruka-sensei stored the scrolls he made into a single scroll. "What are you going to do with all these gemstones?"

"Some I will sell, but I want to experiment with that mana thread," I said as we exited the vein and into the tunnel. "It might be useful for my compounding and crafting. Heck, I wonder if I can make accessories out of those crystals."

"What creative thinking… Wait, you can process gemstones?" Aunt asked in shock.

"Yes. I plan to process yours, too." I said before I stopped in the tunnel.

"Mas-" I held up my hand and quieted Raphtalia and the others.

"There's four of them," Iruka-sensei whispered as he got next to me.

"Yeah… And they are chakra users." I added. I had noticed a difference to my party compared to others in this world due to our chakra usage. Now that I felt mana, chakra seemed like a flame to me, the life of a being, while mana was the aura around that flame helping to fuel it. It was why even with a number for my HP and MP, I had excessive regeneration of it as my chakra, HP, and mana seemed to feedback into each other in a strange way. A beneficial way, but still abnormal compared to others.

Yet, back to the problem at hand, I felt four strong flames with small auras. These guys didn't use magic as their mana stuck close to their chakra. They were in the room with the chest from how they were spaced. Wait, there was one other flame, but smaller...?

"We can't surprise them, but we do have an advantage," I got ahead everyone. "Stick behind me. Prepare to use magic if we need it."

"But what about you?" Raphtalia asked with worry.

"Don't worry. I'm the Shield Hero, after all." But just in case. "I'm the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and protect them! Faust Guard!" I cast the defensive magic on myself and we proceeded toward the room.

The flames noticed us and backed away from the tunnel. Good. It might give us a chance to get into the open.

At least, that was what I thought before a barrage struck me. The attack wasn't enough to harm me, but when I looked down… Shuriken. To think I would see this weapon here.

"Ninja!" I shouted and thrown the torch into the room. I saw them barely in the shadows thanks to the light. "Stay behind me Raphtalia, Filo, and Lial. They are on a whole different level than you!"

"What?" One of the ninja tossed a kunai at me and I caught it. And let it go with seeing my first ever explosive tag.

Boom!

I shielded everyone from the blast, but boy did a number on the tunnel and my ears. One of the shadows darted forward and took out a short katana. He struck out at me and I blocked the attack with my shield.

"A shield?" He sounds confused before the snakes of my Chimera Viper Shield came alive. "The hell?" Crap. The ninja was too quick and dodged the snakes.

"Faust Fireball!"

"All Zweite Aqua Shot!" A ball of fire and orbs of water shot past me and boy did that freak out the attacker.

"Shit!" He dodged most of it, but one of the water orbs got his arm good. He backed off back into the shadows. "They can use jutsu."

"It must be Umino Iruka. He is known for his Water and Fire jutsu."

"What the?" I went wide-eyed. How did they know of Iruka-sensei's surname? As well as his affinities?

Now I wanted to know.

"Aunt, Matthew, cast fire magic on this oil." I pulled a small glass bottle from my back and popped the cork. I learned I could make this flammable stuff called gunpowder with a grass called Snappy Grass. Curious, I had carefully extracted oils from said grass and had gotten a potent oil. It was too potent for cooking, but it did unlock a shield with the Fire Resistance (Medium) for me. I didn't know if I could hit the torch, so magic will work as I tossed the bottle and it shattered into pieces on the floor.

"Faust Fireball!" Matthew and Aunt cast the same spell and hit the oil. It lit into a blaze and filled the room with light.

My heart froze as the four ninja lost their shadowy coverage. They wore white animal masks with various markings on them. They all wore the same attire of black clothing, a grey flak jacket, and metal arm guards.

It was the  _exact_  uniform of Konoha ANBU.

How? Was there a ninja village in this world?

"I smell both that Uzumaki kid and Umino guy." The fifth flame showed itself… as a  _talking_  dog? It looked like a pug… And atop its head was a Konoha headband.

"That's… Kakashi-senpai's dog-nin!" Iruka-sensei hissed with wide eyes. "How?"

"Remember the Voice Gengars." I looked at Aunt. "Cast that spell, now."

This had to be some kind of illusion. It couldn't be  _real_.

"Faust Anti-Bind!" The light shimmered around my sides… But the four ninja and dog didn't waver. I pulled out my knife and cut myself.

"Master Naruto!" Raphtalia cried out, but I looked back at the tense ninja.

They were still there.

This was no illusion.

Just to make sure… "Who is the Third Hokage?" I barked out as I braced myself.

"Did he just-"

"Sarutobi Hiruzen," The ninja in a fox mask spoke up.

"How many faces are on the Hokage Mountain?" Everyone but Iruka-sensei looked at me oddly.

"Four." The fox masked ninja answered again.

"What's the best ramen stall?"

"Naruto! That's completely based on the person's tastes!"

"If you are speaking on the terms of Uzumaki Naruto and Umino Iruka, it would be Ramen Ichiraku," The fox ninja chuckled. "Though, I agree that they make good ramen."

"Smart ass," I sighed. "You four really are from Konoha." Iruka-sensei and I looked at each other in the eyes and nodded. "Iruka-sensei and I, Uzumaki Naruto, are willing to give up if you stand down!"

"Oh? You don't want to fight?" The fox ninja stood up from his crouching position. "What were those attacks before?"

"We thought you were…" How to phrase this without sounding stupid? "We thought you were ninja from elsewhere."

"True… The lighting is poor." Wow, this fox masked ninja was sure a comedian. "… Come out of the tunnel and then we can talk."

"Okay, but no attacks!" I growled out and walked forward. "Everyone but Iruka-sensei stay behind me."

"What's going on, Master?" Matthew asked as we walked into the lit room. "Do you know these people?"

"In a way," Iruka-sensei said as he put his hands up as he walked to the side of me. "I, Umino Iruka, surrender myself." Wow. It's getting hard to tell which language Iruka-sensei spoke.

"What about the Shield?"

"We have a client behind us that we would rather not get hurt." I answered, "If you promise to let the people behind us go, we will surrender peacefully."

"Master Naruto!" Raphtalia gasped out. "What do you mean?! Why are you giving into these foreigners?!"

"Raphtalia… Can't you tell from listening to them?"

"What do you mean?" Aunt asked, "All I hear is a language I can't understand."

"I see, we caught you in the middle of working." One of the other ninja said. This one with a cat mask. "Sadly, we cannot let go. Not without knowing what you have done with the Forbidden Scroll."

"It's right here." I pulled the scroll out from under my mantle. "We wish to return it to Konoha and the Hokage."

"Really?" A wolf masked ninja scoffed. "After you stole it and went on the run, you want to-Wait, who are you? Why do you have-"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Lies." A bird masked ninja snorted. This one was the wounded one. "Uzumaki Naruto is a child."

I pulled down the cloth mask I've been wearing. It was much easier to use than my mantle and was easier to breathe through. "I am Uzumaki Naruto."

"Prove it." The wolf masked ninja snorted.

"Let's see. There was this one time I managed to stink bomb the Hokage Office." That made the ninja flinched. "Or, how about that time I cherry bombed all the toilets at the academy."

"So that was you?!"

Oops. Forgot that was one of my pranks I got away with it.

"Do you realize what we had to go through to fix that?" Iruka-sensei grabbed my head when I tried to further myself away from him. "My sandals smelled like sewage for two weeks!"

"Sorry." I squeaked out at the teacher's devil eyes Iruka-sensei gave me.

"Cherry bomb? Sounds delicious."

"No, Filo. It's a bomb. An explosive." I sighed out at my daughter.

"An explosive?! You blew up someplace?" Ouch?! Raphtalia, my poor eardrums were still recovering.

"You really are Uzumaki Naruto." The fox masked ninja let out a sigh. "Drop the transformation."

"It's not a transformation." I sighed as I, too, held my hands up. "Trust me. You wouldn't believe anything we say right now."

"It's true. I bet you will have to have a Yamanaka member see our memories to prove how crazy the last few weeks have been." Iruka sighed. He then went wide-eyed when the bird masked ninja appeared before me and punched me in the gut… Or, at least, he tried to.

"Holy… kunai…" The poor guy cradled his hand as he doubled over. Guess his attack stats were lower than my defenses.

"I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them. Faust Heal." I targeted the bird masked ninja and he glowed. Hoped that would be enough to fix both his hand and arm.

"What the? Medical jutsu?" The bird masked ninja starred as his arm knitted back together

"Magic, not jutsu," I sighed out. "As I said, it's a long story."

"Will you allow us to restrain you all?" The fox masked ninja walked up. Still, he was cautious from how delicate his steps were.

"Are you really going to take all of us prisoner?" Iruka-sensei narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. Sorry, but we are under orders to do so. If possible, don't resist."

"Fine." I turned to the others. "Don't resist. That's an order… In fact, Filo, Lial, transform."

"Why?"

"Do it or no dinner."

"Waah! Okay!" Both puffed into their human forms. I pulled out their dresses from my pack and threw it to them.

"Did… that bird and… thing…"

"Yep. They did."

"And that's just part of the crazy stuff we've been through." I laughed as the ANBU pulled out a rope and tied us up. "Would you believe I got those two from a lottery?"

"That has to be a joke."

"It's not," Iruka-sensei sighed as when found our hands tied to prevent hand seals… Well, outside Matthew who got … the weirdest hands tied position due to his bad arm. We were patted down and all our weapons removed… Well, most weapons.

"The hell? What's with this shield?" The cat masked ninja tried to pry Tate-chan off my arm.

"Trust me. You don't want to know," I growled as he twisted my arms in weird ways. "Could you stop? It's not coming off even if I wanted to take it off." I shocked them as I changed Tate-chan to the Voice Gengar(bat form) form.

"That… is an interesting Shield." The fox masked ninja said with some confusion? Skepticism? Dammit. It was hard to tell their emotions with those damn masks on their faces.

"Yeah. I get that a lot." I turned to Aunt as we were lead out of the cave. "Sorry Aunt. You got pulled into my troubles."

"It isn't a problem, dearie. I just want to know what is going on." Aunt smiled at me.

"Iruka-sensei and I are being… arrested for our crimes." I  _think_  arrested is the right term.

"For murdering Kaus?" Matthew gasped more than asked.

"No. Me for stealing a dangerous scroll and both for treason due to it." Raphtalia gasped in horror.

"They are from your world?!"

"Yes." We flinched as we got back into the sunlight.

"So, how will we return? By foot?"

"No. We might be in enemy territory." The fox masked ninja sighed. "We are returning the same way we got here."

"But none of us-"

"I can… Just not to the degree those three got theirs to work." The fox masked ninja let out a sigh. "Give me a few minutes to write out the seal. I guess we will leave the carriages here and-"

"Noooo!" Filo cried out as both Lial and she ran over to their carriages. "Filo can't leave her carriage behind! No! No! No!"

"Don't separate Lial from her cart!" Lial rubbed her cart with tears, "Lial's beloved carriage!"

"Is… that normal?"

"Sadly yes," I sighed, "Could you please bring the carriages with us? These two get anxious without them."

"Guess we can use them to make it down to two trips compared to a bunch of little ones." The fox masked ninja groaned as he pulled out a pot of ink and a brush from his storage scroll. "I guess - and hope - the seal in the ANBU base is still functioning. I would rather not explain why two carts appeared on top of the Hokage Mountain."

"Thank you," I watched carefully as the fox masked ninja painted a complex set of characters onto the chasm wall.

So… A seal got them here? How did they manage that when there were no such seals in the Forbidden scroll detailing such a jutsu?

"Father, I'm hungry."

"Hungry, hungry."

"You two just ate that Nue!"

"Can you make us something to eat?"

"No. My hands are kinda tied right now." How are these two gluttons thought of food at a time like this? I turned to Raphtalia and Matthew to find both morose and with worry in their eyes. "It's going to be alright."

"Master Naruto, are… are you sure?"

"Not exactly, but… At least for you guys, I think I can say yes."

"Seal!" I felt the fox masked ninja's chakra flared up and looked back at the wall. The script glowed and came alive as it pulled into itself till only a few characters remained on the wall. "Alright. Bring the carriages over here. I'll do everyone in one carriage and then come back for the other one."

"Promise?" Filo and Lial did puppy-

Wait… Wait wait wait!

"You can understand them?!" I gaped at my daughters.

"Aren't they speaking like you, Father?" Both Filolial and dragon cocked their heads in confusion.

"Yes, but… No. I'm not going to try and figure this out." I was too tired from the fighting with the Nue. Maybe Filolials and dragons have translation magic along with their transformation magic?

"Alright, load up." We were helped into the carriage and I tensed at the chakra pushed into the carriage and then-

"Oh, fuck!" I managed to bolt to the end of the carriage and puke my guts out, again. Note to future self: do not EVER try to sense how someone tries to move from location to location ever again.

"Alright, come… You alright?" The cat masked ninja asked me as I heaved.

"As… alright… as one… can be…" My eyebrow twitched at the ninja.

"Well, come with us." We were taken from the carriage and I gulped at seeing ourselves in some kind of bunker-like building. My stomach dropped even further when the ropes were replaced with special cuffs that I felt restricted our chakra and put into a cell with seal papers on the bars.

… Maybe giving up wasn't such a good idea after all.


	11. Chapter 11

I watched the clock in my status magic tick down as we sat in the cell. I actually found my mind hurting from nothing going on. Was this how a prisoner's life was? Wasn't this just wasting a person's life?

After three hours, which thankfully Filo and Lial slept through, we finally had some people come up to the bars. A broad man in dark gray clothes and a black trench coat stood before others in lighter gray uniforms. They all had Konoha headbands, but the broad one wore it like a bandanna, making him stand out even more.

"Morino Ibiki," Iruka-sensei frowned as he looked at the broad man.

"Good to see you know me. However, seems you're on the wrong side this time, Umino-san." Ibiki chuckled with a smile. "Are you willing to give the information we need?"

"Gladly, but you'll probably think I'm on some kind of drug." Iruka-sensei sighed with slump shoulders. "It's crazier than that time we had those new Chunin at the missions desk and they screwed up by giving the wrong scrolls out."

"Seriously? That wild?" Ibiki flinched at Iruka-sensei words. I wondered what exactly happened. I have seen how Konoha ran on the paper pusher side since I was little since my guardian was the Old Man. It was amazing how easily things could screw up if not careful with the administration side, let alone out on the field.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Iruka-sensei sighed as the door to the cell opened. "So you are taking Naruto and I to interrogation?"

"No. All seven of you," Ibiki nodded to the people behind him. "Took a little longer as we had to set up some rooms so we can understand the foreigners."

"Please don't treat them badly," I demanded with a scowl. "It is my fault this all happened. I take full responsibility for my actions." I bowed towards Ibiki and the others.

"Don't worry. With them, it's more getting statements than an interrogation." Ibiki said before looking at me. "Though, are you really Uzumaki Naruto? You look like you could be Umino-san's age."

"Again, a crazy, long story," I sighed before I shook Filo and Lial. "Come on. Wake up."

"Aah… I was having a good dream." Filo yawned and Lial blinked at me sleepily.

"You two behave and stay in your human forms. That's an order."

"Okay!" Both chirped. "Are we going to get something to eat?"

"You just ate three hours ago!"

"Hungry," Lial pouted with her Filolial sister.

"Hey, get the kids something to eat. They can eat it in the room." Ibiki told the ninja that took Filo and Lial.

I, sadly, got Ibiki and he escorted me to a white room with a mirrored glass on one side. A table was in the middle of the room with two chairs. One of the chairs clearly had seals on it even if I couldn't see them. I sensed them.

Sadly, I sat in this covered chair and I shuddered as an odd… spark crawled throughout my body.

"Now, let's start," I narrowed my eyes at the sick smirk on Ibiki. "And straight to the point. Why did you steal the Forbidden Scroll?"

"Mizuki told me if I could steal the Forbidden Scroll and learn a technique from it, I would be able to become a ninja." Ibiki raised an eyebrow at me. "I know, but I was too blinded with being frustrated and wanting to be a ninja so bad…" I clenched my fists and looked down. "If that blasted king hadn't summoned me, Iruka-sensei would have died with taking an attack meant for me."

"Summoned?" Ibiki asked as he glanced at my shield. "Is it related to that Shield that won't come off your body?"

"Yes. When I stole the scroll, I found a book… And it was a trap," I looked at Tate-chan. "Tate-chan chose me to be her wielder and Iruka-sensei and I ended up summoned to another world." And I told Ibiki everything that had happened. The other world, the Shadows, the other heroes, and so on.

Ibiki's response… was doubling over in laughter. "That's… sounds more like some kind of movie!"

"Hey, we warned ya that you wouldn't believe us," I sighed out. "Truth is, I barely can believe I'm back in Konoha. I thought I would never be able to return."

"Did you not want to return here?"

"No. I wanted to come back." I said with my head down. "I will take any punishment. Just allow Iruka-sensei his livelihood back." Not that imprisonment will stop the Waves from summoning my party and me back into that world. The timer proved that much to me.

"I can't make any promises," Ibiki said as the door opened. Oh! It's the fox masked ninja from before. He was holding a steaming bowl of-

"Ramen!" I jumped up and drooled at the sight of my beloved dish. I was still working on making ramen in the other world after my noodle supply ran out.

"Heel, boy," I pouted at the fox masked ninja place the bowl before me. "Thought I get you a treat for surrendering peacefully. It's Ramen Ichiraku's if you are wondering."

"If this is my last meal, I am content." I sighed as I pulled my appraisal skills out. "Good. It's not poisoned. I can enjoy it without any funny flavors." Filo got poisoned meat once and I cooked it without checking my appraisal skill. Thank goodness for my antidotes and poison resistance.

"How can you tell?" The fox masked ninja asked out of curiosity.

"Tate-chan gives me skills and such depending on what I feed her. They range from combat to useful non-combat things." I snapped the chopsticks apart. "Thanks for-Huh?" I looked at the fox masked ninja. Both his HP and mana was really low. "You used up a lot of your chakra?"

"Yes. I can't use the Flying Thunder God jutsu easily. It takes a lot out of me and I had two huge loads to move."

"Sorry," The cuffs blocked my chakra, but I felt my mana still moved freely… Wouldn't that mean… "I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them, Faust Heal." I targeted the fox masked ninja.

"What the?" He glowed as Ibiki jumped to his feet and slammed my head into the table. A clanging sound came from my defense protecting me.

"What did you just do?" Waah! The look on Ibiki's face sent fear down my spine. "Tell me or else."

"I cast healing magic on him," I answered with a squeak in my voice. Wow. I almost sounded like my age due to it. "His health power is low due to his chakra usage."

"Health power?" Ibiki let go of my head and let out a sigh of relief. "How do you feel, Kakashi?"

"Actually, a bit better," Kakashi, the fox masked ninja, looked at his hands and flexed them. "It feels like some of my energy has returned though still fatigued."

"How did you use that jutsu with your chakra sealed at the moment?" Ibiki narrowed his eyes at me.

"Because it's not a jutsu. It's magic. It uses mana instead of the combination of health power and mana like chakra." I shrugged, "I can sense my chakra is sealed, but my mana is still free."

"So… You can attack?" Ibiki and Kakashi tensed up.

"My affinities are Healing and Support. Even the little Wind magic I've learned is pitiful for an attack." I sheepishly laughed at the serious expression on Ibiki.

"Is this something you learned from this so-called other world?"

"Yes." I nodded and took my chopsticks. "Thanks for the meal." I dug in, fearful of it ending up everywhere if I don't eat it now.

Oooh… Heavenly ramen… How I missed you!

"Other… world?"

"Yeah. That's his story… And he's not showing any signs of lying."

"But then, how did the Flying Thunder God Jutsu work, in that case?"

"Hey, answer this for me." Ibiki focused back on me. "What did you do to your coat till now?"

"My coat?" I cocked my head as I slurped up some noodles. I chewed and swallowed. "It was sealed in a storage scroll till I… That's how you found us?!" I stood up as it all clicked in my head. "Is there a seal on my coat?"

"Yes. It was put there in case someone kidnapped you due to your connection to the Hokage." Kakashi explained.

"And that I am the human form of the Nine-tailed Fox." That got wide eyes from Ibiki.

"Okay, who told you that?" Ibiki said with a firm frown. "Umino-san?"

"Mizuki shouted it out that I was the fox when he… threw a huge shuriken at me. I connected the dots on my own."

"Kakashi. Go arrest that Mizuki fellow." My eyes widened. "He broke the decree. Tell him he is needed for some questions and leads him where no one can see him." Kakashi left the room with a nod.

"The decree?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "What decree?"

"Guess no point in hiding it from you since you know." Ibiki groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "A decree was made so that the younger generations would hopefully accept you. That decree was to keep your status as the Nine-Tailed Fox's container a secret from your peers and you… Well, until you were ready to learn of your important job."

"To be Konoha's weapon, huh?" I slumped my shoulders. I constantly pondered why Konoha kept me alive even after all the things my past self did. It was only logical to think Konoha wanted me as a weapon.

"Though a Jinchuriki is powerful, your case wasn't to make you a weapon," Ibiki looked at me oddly. "You were made a last minute host of the Fox to save the village. Hence the Third Hokage made the decree to try and give you some normalcy… Sadly, people can't get it through their thick skulls that you are a little boy who had been made a cage to save us all and the kids' follow the adult's example."

"What?" I blinked in confusion. "Jinchuriki? Host? Ain't I the Nine-Tailed Fox in a… humanoid form?"

"How'd you get that idea?" Ibiki laughed. "No. You are a flesh and blood human, kid. You just have a giant fox sealed in your body… Just like something stored into a storage scroll… The only way to seal the fox was with a living, breathing scroll, that is."

I stood up enraged and slammed my cuffed hands on the table. "The hell? How am I human when I have grown with my levels?!" I narrowed my eyes at the shocked man. "I can't be human! All I've seen points to being the Nine-tailed Fox!"

"Grown with your levels?" Ibiki asked in confusion before his eyes widen. He turned to the mirrored glass. "Is Jiraiya-sama there? Get him in here this instant."

"Jiraiya-sama?" I asked in confusion.

"One of Konoha's foremost seal masters," Ibiki said when the door burst opened.

"I'm not just Konoha's foremost seal master!" A man with long white hair and flashy clothes held his hand out in a pose. "I am the holiest hermit sage of the Mount Myoboku Toads, otherwise known as Jiraiya the Toad Sage! Pleased to meet ya!" The man grinned at me.

"What?" Ibiki and I stared at the man in silence. "You know, I might start taking that title of Savior of the Heavenly Beasts more seriously." I gave a meek expression at the man before me. How… was being a toad sage a good thing? At least the title the people gave me wasn't the Filolial Sage… Well, Dragon Sage did some kind of cool.

"Alright, kid. Take off your armor and shirts." Jiraiya eyed Ibiki and the large ninja unlocked my cuffs. "We need to check the Fourth's seal."

"Fine." I took off my armor and placed it on the table. My shirts followed and my face went beet red when this Jiraiya was on my chest faster than Filo and Lial to meat. "The hell! Pervert!"

"What the hell is this?" The playful tone was gone. The man's face was completely serious and angry? Why would he be-

Oh.

"It's a monster crest," I answered. "A magic seal."

"For what?"

"Monster training." Oh, wait. Otherworld. "Sorry, training animals."

Both men went dead quiet at me. I squirmed under their dead stares.

"You mean… A slavery seal?" Jiraiya recovered first.

"Yes, but those didn't work on me. I had to get a mon-animal crest for it to work." I still flinched at the price tag. "Iruka-sensei is the master for my crest."

"So, you have to obey him?" Ibiki narrowed his eyes at me.

"No. We only have it set to punish if I lie to him or attack him. The same for the slave crest on his chest to me."

"Wait… You have a slavery seal on Umino?" Ibiki looked at me sternly.

"Yes. Don't tell me slavery is illegal here." If it costs 500 silver just remove three slave crests… Add in Filo, Lial, and me… "I'm gonna go broke with crest removal." My eyes teared up in horror.

"No. Slavery is legal under strict rules." I let out a sigh of relief. I needed to read up on those rules to stay on the right side of it till we get where we don't need them anymore. "However, why did you do that?"

"So we can tell if someone is impersonating one of us," Jiraiya and Ibiki's eyes widen. "Ninja-Shadows as they call themselves-exist in that world. And they clearly outrank Iruka-sensei and me in skill and power."

"So you used a seal where neither of you could betray the other?" I nodded, "Well, I'll be… I never thought of using such seals in a smart way." Jiraiya mumbled to himself.

"That and demi-humans are prosecuted in Melromarc and since I look like a demi-human due to my whisker marks, it helps avoid problems."

"Demi… humans?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at me.

"Raphtalia and Matthew are demi-human." I motioned atop my head animal ears with my hands.

"So those weren't some kind of fashion statement?" Ibiki asked with a serious face.

"No. Raphtalia is a raccoon-type and Matthew is a rabbit type," I sighed out. "They are my slaves, though I hope Konoha can take them in once… my job of Shield Hero is over." I bowed. "They are both strong fighters and will make an excellent ninja."

"Let's put that aside for now," Jiraiya pointed to my stomach." Focus your chakra."

"Fine." I put my hands together and gathered up chakra. My brow twitched as I felt Jiraiya stared at my stomach. "Is there a problem?"

"No… In fact, it's been reinforced somehow." Jiraiya said with surprised and I looked down at him. "Some of the age damage has been practically repaired."

"That's probably due to Tate-chan." I guessed. "I can't use any weapons except her and she sees my old powers outside healing as a weapon."

"Wait… What?"

"Kunai?" I held out my hand. Both looked at me skeptically. "I'm not even going to enclose my hand."

"Okay." Ibiki sighed and pulled out a kunai and put it in my hand. I thought of how to use it against the two men before me.

Yep. It was enough for the sparks to fly and I dropped the knife. I ignored the warning that popped up and shook the numbness from my hand.

"Well, I'll be," Jiraiya grabbed Tate-chan and looked over her. "What's up with this shield?" Huh? His eyes turned to gold for a second. "I can sense great power in its gem, but it's… nothing I've ever felt before."

"It's a Legendary Weapon." I sighed, "She has a manual in my status magic, but I haven't found much on them." All I had to go by was legends which barely had any information at all. Maybe I should try to find a library to see if they had more info.

"Hmm.." Ibiki picked up the cuffs. "Put your clothes and armor back on. I have gotten what I needed."

"Sure. I expect my punishment soon enough." I sighed as I got my clothes and armor back on. I held out my wrists to be cuffed, but Jiraiya stopped Ibiki.

"What's this about punishment?" Jiraiya had a stern look in eyes.

"Don't you know?" I blinked, "I'm a B-ranked missing-nin."

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ibiki narrowed his eyes at me. I held up Tate-chan and transformed her into the Crystal Ball Shield. "What the?"

"Crystal Ball Jutsu," I said as I focused chakra into the crystal ball. I focused on Matthew's signature and we saw Matthew in another white room.

"How dare you, slandering my Master like that!?" Oh, boy. Matthew was mad. Thank goodness he was tied to the chair.

"He is an incompetent child. Why are you defending that thief?" The ninja in the room scoffed.

"First they labeled him a murderer and now a thief?" Matthew scowled at the ninja. "When will you people stop it with this madness!"

"A murderer?" The ninja clicked his tongue. "I guess you can say that without knowing what that boy really-" Ibiki broke my concentration by putting his hand on the crystal ball.

"Excuse me. I have a… subordinate to deal with." Ibiki left the room, leaving Jiraiya and me behind.

"Come on. You're coming with me." Jiraiya grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me out of the room.

* * *

"Sensei, what the hell is the meaning of this?!" Jiraiya dragged me all the way to the Old Man's office. The Old Man looked at us in shock before he recognized me.

"Naruto? Is that you?" The Old Man dropped his pipe in shock.

"Yeah, Old Man. Sorry for up and disappearing on you… And sorry for stealing the Forbidden Scroll." I bowed as I apologized. "No amount of apologizing can make up for my foolishness."

"I've just gotten the report in from my ANBU and the Forbidden Scroll back… But, you really have aged." The Old Man Hokage said with shock.

"Why was he put as a B-rank missing-nin?" Jiraiya snarled, "The boy… Man isn't even a ninja last I checked."

"He stole the Forbidden Scroll and disappeared for two months." The Old Man sighed and recovered his pipe from the floor. "I had to make a call. At least marking him B-rank meant I could choose who hunted him down."

"He's still an academy student! One tricked by his own teacher, might I add!"

"Umino-san?"

"No. Some Mizuki guy," The Old Man's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "But, I'm still going to beat that Umino guy for putting slave seals on Naruto and himself without thinking about the Nine-tailed Fox's seal."

"What?" The Old Man's eyes narrowed dangerously thin.

"It was my idea." Both looked at me with shock. "I refused to let him get a slave crest on himself without me doing the same. It wasn't fair." I looked down with a bit of guilt.

"Naruto… Just what happened to you?" The Old Man looked at me with sad eyes.

"A lot of stuff… And it's sadly not over." I looked at Tate-chan. "I will accept my punishment for stealing the Forbidden Scroll, but I'm on a time limit. I will be summoned back to the world I was on in a month to face what I can only describe as an invasion of monsters."

"What? This other world nonsense you were talking about?" Jiraiya looked at me with pity. "I don't know what you been through to think something like that is real, but you gotta face reality."

"I am. I've already fought the Wave once." I clenched my fist by remembering the heroes and knights. "I don't think we will be as lucky the second time. I have to prepare my party and myself for the next one."

"And… does that mean you are giving up your chances of becoming a ninja?" Jiraiya looked at the Old Man in shock. "I still have to do an investigation, but since you surrendered yourselves peacefully and returned the scroll, I will lift missing-nin status… But, if you leave Konoha-"

"I don't have a choice. Tate-chan will automatically transport my party and me to the location of the Wave when the Dragon's Hourglass hits zero." I sighed as I felt heavy and my throat dry. "King Melromarc decided my ninja career's fate when he summoned me as one of the four heroes. I just ask that you allow Iruka-sensei the chance to resume his career as a ninja. He got dragged into this because of me."

"Naruto, are you sure of this?" The Old Man asked me with a heavy frown.

"I have a countdown indicator in the corner of my vision that constantly reminds me." Both looked at me in shock. "I have no choice but to be the Shield Hero." And admitting it torn my heart to shreds.

How long would my job of Shield Hero last? Months? Years? How could I ever return to the academy if I have to constantly train and be whisked off to another world? I wouldn't be surprised if the Old Man banished me right here and now.

"Nonsense," Jiraiya clicked his tongue. "You can ignore the nonsense put into your head. In fact, let me check you for a genjutsu."

"It's not a genjutsu," Really. Iruka-sensei already tried everything to dispel the status magic, partly out of paranoia.

"Naruto, you said you were summoned, correct?"

"You actually believe his far-fetched story?" Jiraiya looked at the Old Man as if he has grown another head.

"Just answer the question, Naruto."

"Yes. With some kind of weird seal that was on the ground." I sighed as a light of understanding came into the Hokage's eyes. "Iruka-sensei and I bolted from our summoners and hence don't have support from the kingdom like the other heroes."

"Then you should be able to cancel the contract." Both Jiraiya and I went widened eyed.

"Cancel… the contract?" I looked at Tate-chan and opened the help menu. "Can I do that, Tate-chan?" A screen popped up before me.

**Legendary Contract Agreement**

**The Legendary Weapons choose their wielders and give them abilities in return for using just the Legendary Weapon. Once bound, the Legendary Weapon does not leave the user's side and cannot choose a new owner unless special conditions are met or the user is dead.**

"I…can't break the contract," So… If they needed a new Shield Hero, they have to kill me. "That must be why the knights flung a fire spell at us during the Wave." Since the King couldn't control me as he wanted, he wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible… Well, without giving any more reasons for other countries to invade, that is.

"Then it is akin to someone performing the Summoning Technique with enough chakra to be teleported to their summoning affinity." I stared at the Old Man. That smirk on his face was not a good thing. "Though this is the first time I met someone who was summoned like a summoning, it's not unheard of."

"Wait. People have been to other worlds like me?" Now that was a shocker.

"Not to another world, but summonings work in mysterious ways. How they get a summoner is as numerous as the stars in the night sky." The Old Man nodded and looked me in the eyes. "Naruto, do you hate Konoha?"

"No." I looked down. "More, Konoha has the right to hate me." Whereas the other world doesn't. Religion and politics my ass. "I've done a great deal of damage to the people here. Both as the Fox and the prankster Naruto. I have no right to hate anyone here."

… Okay. Maybe Uchiha Sasuke, but even he was better than that Bitch Princess and her father. Definitely Mizuki, that lying bastard ruined Iruka-sensei and my life…

Oh, can't forget my neighbor below me in my apartment complex. Though, only hated him due to his horrible singing at the worst times at night. Damn bastard made me late to the academy so many times I lost count.

"You know… Naruto, you are not the Fox. You are its prison." The Old Man huffed out a puff of smoke. "The Fourth Hokage couldn't seal the fox into an inanimate object. He needed a living host that could withstand the Fox's chakra."

"Then why the hell have I grown up?!" I couldn't understand it. "Human's in the other world don't grow up with their levels. Non-humans do. Monsters do. How can I be human?"

"You are." The Old Man pulled out a folder from his desk and placed it on his desk. "Take a look."

"Huh?" I opened it up… And found it was all sorts of medical reports. X-rays, blood tests, and so on… All from one person: Uzumaki Naruto… Me.

"In the first years of your life, people were dead set you were the fox in human form." The Old Man said as I looked up from the records. "Your fear of needles probably came from all the tests we constantly did on you to prove you were human. That the seal simply filters the Fox's chakra and slowly makes it your own and you stayed human.

"Filter…" My eyes widen. The feedback loop between my chakra, HP, and mana. It made sense now. If my chakra was being constantly replenished by the seal, of course, my HP and mana would always recover quickly as well!

Yet… Yet, if this was true and I… I wasn't the Fox.

"What am I?" I looked back at the medical records and skimmed them. The little bits I could understand from the medical mumbo jumbo was the tests said I was human. So, why did the other world see me as not one? If the logic of a storage scroll applied to me, then the system shouldn't see me as the Fox. My appraisal skills proved that much to me as I couldn't just see what has stored inside from appraisal.

Well, outside that, my worries about growing bigger have been relieved. I let out a sigh and put the folder back on the desk. We already had two gluttons in the party. I didn't need to make up as a third one due to growth.

"Thank you, Old Man," I said with a smile. "So the voice I sometimes hear… It's the Fox, not me?"

"You hear it?" That got both men's attention.

"Yeah. Most of the time it jabs at my choices." I scratched the back of my head. Guess I owed the Fox an apology for thinking it was me?

"Is the seal-"

"No, it's better than expected," Jiraiya sighed. "When have you heard its voice?"

"When I felt my old… Sorry, the Fox's chakra." I touched my stomach.

"Guess we will have to be careful when it comes to you using the Fox's chakra." I touched my stomach.

"I can only use the Fox's chakra to heal," I explained as I held up Tate-chan. "This shield is a jealous bugger. She won't let me hold any weapons."

"Maybe one of Konoha's enemies did this to make the… man useless." Jiraiya said as the Old Man motioned me over to him. "It's the only explanation I can think of."

"I don't think so." The Old Man looked over my shield. "There's something special about this shield."

"Yeah, but to make it so the person who wields it is unable to use other weapons... Isn't that more a curse?" Jiraiya said as a knock at the door stopped the conversation.

I gulped as Ibiki walked into the room with a pissed off expression. When his eyes landed on me, I tried my best at a poker face. Yet, to my relief, he just shook his head and walked forward to stand in front of the Hokage.

"So, Morino-san, how did the interrogations go for Umino-san and Naruto?"

"Both still are loyal to Konoha and didn't lie about their accounts of what happened." Ibiki slumped his shoulders and let out a big sigh. "That said, the damage done to two of our "integrations" interrogation rooms will take time to repair."

"You mean they-

"Two non-Konoha civilians brought in with Umino and Uzumaki," Ibiki snorted. "I already have the punishment ready for my two subordinates who underestimated those two and went against my orders on just getting statements from the others with Umino and Naruto."

"Who's the other one?" I asked as I knew he was talking about was Matthew. Wait! Wait! "Sorry for the damage! I will scold them-"

"Oh, no. They aren't at fault." Ibiki let out a chuckle. "My subordinates were the ones to infuriate them to the point they went hostile… Especially that elderly lady. She practically charcoaled the room."

"What the hell did that guy do to get Aunt to do that?!" I recoiled in shock. "She's the sweetest lady I know!" Quite literally as I barely knew any old ladies like Aunt.

"My subordinates told her magic was fake and told her to stop lying to keep it simple." Ibiki let out a weak laugh.

"He insulted her livelihood," I smacked my forehead. "Aunt is a magic shop owner. She was with us to help us find a gemstone we needed to make the magic thread."

"The other one pissed off the rabbit man and got cut up to ribbons by water… magic." Ibiki said with a serious tone. "The medic-nin confirmed your words, Uzumaki. Your slaves are not human."

"Not human?" The Old Man raised an eyebrow at Ibiki. "What do you mean?

"They are… part animal." Ibiki said and pulled a scroll from his coat. "Here is the report… And I can safely say Umino and Uzumaki are speaking the truth as we checked with maps with the non-Konoha civilians. Uzumaki is this legendary hero summoned to a country called Melromarc and that country is in a world under threat of being destroyed."

"But how? What I heard would better fit a fiction book!" Jiraiya scoffed.

"All of their accounts match up, and the Hyuuga on my team confirmed this… magic thing wasn't chakra or jutsu. We checked the carriages brought and found various medicines, herbs, and materials from creatures not from any of our known sources."

"Hey! You better have returned all my merchandise!" I hissed out in fury. "If I find one thing missing from my stock, I'll charge you for it!"

"Hm? Your stock?" The Old Man raised an eyebrow and looked up from the scroll he was reading.

"Yes. I've been working as a peddler these past two weeks to earn money. I just paid off a debt I owed." Every time I say that I feel so much pride. "Our focus now is to build war funds for the gear we need and the eventual class-up my party needs before the next Wave."

"What do you sell?"

"Sensei, be serious!" Jiraiya gritted his teeth at the Old Man.

"Mainly medicine and materials from monsters. I also can craft accessories and gemstones and sell those, too." I blinked at the Old Man. "Why do you ask, Old Man?"

"Medicine, huh?" Oh boy, I see that twinkle in his eyes. "And you can use this magic Ibiki spoke of?"

"Yes. My affinities are only Healing, Support, and a little wind." I felt ready to run away. Old Man had that kind of scheming smile that never meant anything good.

"I see." The Old Man said as he pulled out a kunai.

"Old Man!" I rushed over when he sliced his arm from his wrist straight up to his elbow. "Are you an idiot?! I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the law of nature and heal them! Faust Heal!" The Old Man glowed green and grunted as the slash knitted back together. "Are you trying to kill yourself?! You want to bleed to death?"

"Lord Hokage…" Ibiki and Jiraiya were wide-eyed.

"I trusted you, Naruto." The Old Man flexed his hand before he put it on my shoulder. "My boy, to seal such a wound so quickly. Congrats."

"Con…grats?" I asked with a cocked head.

"You both witnessed his abilities," The Old Man smirked as I reached into his drawer. "Uzumaki Naruto, not only have you stolen the Forbidden Scroll from me, but you saved me from a lethal wound. I say letting such talent go to waste in prison would be heresy."

"W-What-" My words stopped in my throat. The Old Man put a Konoha headband before me. The metal gleamed in the light.

"Uzumaki Naruto, as the Third Hokage, I hereby field promote you to rank of Genin. To the Medic Corps, of course, as you clearly have grown into a fine medic-nin these past two months."

I stood there, silent as I looked between the headband and the Old Man.

Was… Was the Old Man really…?

My dream…

A tear fell down my cheek and I went to one knee.

I'm greedy. A greedy bastard, but-

"I accept on two conditions." I could tell all three were shocked by my words. "Make my slaves Matthew and Raphtalia ninja and… can I have a grave put into Konoha's Cemetery?"

"A grave?" Ibiki asked before his eyes widened, "For that Kaus guy?"

"He gave his life to protect me. I want to at least give him a final resting place here." I bowed my head deeper, to the point my forehead almost reached the floor. "I want to fulfill my promise to them of giving them a new life here in Konoha."

"The first one I will have to see about," The Old Man said, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw the gentle smile of the Old Man. "But I can for sure help you in the burial of your friend."

"Old Man," My voice cracked out of my throat and I managed to knock the Old Man off his feet with a hug.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my story! I also thank HaveaLittleFeith for editing my story.
> 
> However, got some news. I will be taking a small break from posting. I started a new job, so want to get used to it without stressing over both writing and posting. Hence there won't be a chapter posted next week and I will start posting again the week after next as by then I should have a good idea of how to balance writing with work... As well as give my editing friend a break, too.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a great day!

The Old Man was quick with getting Kaus' grave made. After a quick check-up from Medic-nin, we were released from custody with escorts, since most of our group were not from Konoha.

"It's a… bit late, Kaus, but you're here. Welcome to Konohagakure." I lit an intense on Kaus' grave as we stood around his simple grave in Konoha's Cemetery. Raphtalia put some flowers we bought on the grave. I had to give respect to the Old Man. He managed to get the grave marker to put Kaus' name in Fire and Melromarc.

"We… miss you, Kaus." Raphtalia choked back a sob. "Thank you… And please rest in peace."

"Father, who is Kaus?" Filo asked me as Lial and she looked at me with frowns. "Why does he have a stone?"

"Kaus… was a friend," I hugged both my daughters. "He died before you two were born. This is his grave."

"Grave?"

"Where his remains rest. That way we can pay our respects to him." Both Filolial and dragon went silent and snuggled closer to me.

We stayed for a little while before we left to Iruka-sensei's and my apartments. They were a mess, clearly ransacked due to the investigation on us. I was just happy to see I still had a place to live and had Shadow Clones clean both apartments up. Sadly, my plants had died due to lack of care. We headed out to get at least some bedrolls and food for my apartment as it was big enough for us all to sleep in.

"So this is your home?" Aunt asked in awe as she looked around excitedly. "To think I would end up in one of the heroes' worlds! The possibilities are-"

"Limited," Our escort, Aburame Shibi, said coldly. "Non-shinobi, especially foreigners, have little access to shinobi information."

"Not secrets, dearie. Just seeing all these amazing wonders of your village is giving me so many research ideas!" Aunt said as she saw a ninja hopped across the roofs. "To think such feats like that are possible with magic."

"Ma…gic?" The Aburame shifted a little but stayed quiet. Good choice, my man, considering Aunt's berserk button. I even felt the ANBU following us flinch. Guess they got the memo to not diss magic.

"Anyways, let's get a bite to eat," I quickly changed the subject. "We can pick up some bento and eat somewhere nice."

"True. Though, I never knew Konoha had a means of language translation," Iruka-sensei looked at Shibi's wrist where a bracelet was. "Would have made my life easier."

"The seal doesn't always work," Shibi said with a slight annoyance in his voice. "However, I find it quite a feat that you and Uzumaki have mastered a foreign language so quickly."

"Matthew is a good teacher." Iruka nodded to the flushing rabbit man. "Though, Naruto and I still have a ways to go to master Melromarc and magic language."

"But, to think this is where Iruka-sensei and Master Naruto grew up," Raphtalia said as her tail squished excitedly from side and side. "It's amazing. So many people. It's like a city!"

"Konohagakure is known as one of the largest of the ninja villages." Iruka-sensei smiled at Raphtalia. "We have a large civilian population compared to the other villages and rely on their support to keep our village running as the ninja do their jobs."

"I can see why they want to live here," Matthew said as he smiled with seeing people going about their daily lives. No one glared as us, though some did stare.

I was soaking up this… normalcy? Yes, I soaked this normalcy up while I had the chance. It would not last once everyone learned I was Uzumaki Naruto. Thankfully, the Old Man allowed me to keep my face mask, so it will help me enjoy this a little longer.

"Wait a second." Iruka-sensei stopped before a weapon shop. "Naruto, there's something I want you to try."

"Huh? What is it?" I asked as we entered the weapon shop. It had quite a selection of weapons and even had a few historical tools on sale for decoration. Iruka-sensei went over to the smallest section: shields.

"Remember that weapon copy thing?" My eyes widened at Iruka-sensei. "Try it."

"But… Wouldn't that be like stealing?" We have had this discussion plenty of times. We hadn't tried it at Uncle's as I didn't want to ruin my relationship with possibly the only weapon shop that would work with me.

"Just try it to see if what we theorized is true." Iruka-sensei took down a small wooden shield from the wall. "This is the cheapest one. Once you get your money back, you can pay for it if you want."

The cashier was looking at us funnily, but… I will never know if I kept avoiding it. I took the Shield and my eyes widened when a strange feeling shot from the wooden shield to Tate-chan.

**Weapon Copy System Activated**

**Wooden Shield conditions met.**

**Red Wooden Shield conditions met.**

**Pink Wooden Shield conditions met.**

**Etc…**

Holy Hokage! It unlocked not one shield, but all the color variations of the Wooden Shield!

"It worked?" I dumbly nodded as I put the shield back on the wall. "So, you can gain new forms from already made shields."

"But it feels wrong to do it." I really was tempted to weapon copy on the other shields, but the shop was a Konoha shop. Just like Uncle, they were my allies and I didn't want to steal from my allies.

"If we explain, maybe we can make a deal with the weaponsmith in Melromarc." Iruka-sensei looked at the shields on display. "Ninja don't use shields that often, so it would be better to do the copying from his shop, anyways."

"Oh, the weapons here are amazing!" Raphtalia's eyes sparkled at a katana on display. I looked at the price tag and turned green.

After almost two months of using metal coins… The sheer difference between the two money systems was sickening. How much ryou did I still have left in my name? I know I had enough of a buffer for a few months rent, but could I afford a katana at 30,000 ryou?

"Ah, foreigners?" The cashier seemed a bit nervous. "Is there something you are looking for?"

"Nothing at the moment," I answered and Raphtalia pouted at me. "We were showing our companions Konoha's unique weapons. You have a fine selection, so we will probably be back."

"Oh, okay," The cashier sighed in defeat as we left the shop.

* * *

"My, I never tasted anything like this," Aunt said as we ate some bento in the park next to the Academy. "It's odd… But, still good." Aunt used her hand to pop a sausage octopus into her mouth.

"Still not as good as Father's cooking."

"Not good."

"Hey, do you two want just raw meat from now on?"

"Noooo!" Filo and Lial both cried out with watery eyes. "Father's cooking is the best!"

"Best! Best!"

"They don't lie on that front." Matthew laughed at the pouty girls. "Your cooking is amazing."

"I'm not a chef." I joined in the pout party.

"Wait, is that…"

"I think so!"

"Iruka-sensei!"

What the?!

A wild pack of children appeared around us.

"It really is!"

"We missed you, Iruka-sensei!"

"You're way better than the substitutes!" All the children surrounded Iruka-sensei and some hugged him.

"Why'd you all run off?" A mock pained tone came from the voice of the fox masked ninja… Oh, wait, he isn't wearing ANBU gear. Though, his face was still mostly covered with a headband over one eye and a cloth mask over his face. He wore a pair of blue slacks and long sleeve shirt with a green flak jacket. "Aren't my team and I worth your time?" His eyes smiled at the group.

"Hell no!"

"You guys are lousy!"

"I heard that!" Several of the kids gulped as three other teenagers appeared. "We are trying to teach-" The girl of the group looked at us and her eyes widened just as I realized who it was. "Iruka-sensei?!"

"Sakura-chan?" I said quietly at my once crush. She must have not heard me as she rushed over to Iruka-sensei. I looked by Kakashi and saw two… Uchiha Sasuke? One I know for sure was the snob, but the other was a paler, creepily smiling version of the snob. They all had Konoha headbands on their foreheads.

"Iruka-sensei, you're back?!" Sakura asked in shock. "I heard-"

"Yes, yes. Luckily things got cleared up." Iruka-sensei held his hand up in defense. "It has been quite an adventure with Naruto."

"Tch. That loser is probably rotting in jail for being foolish enough to steal from the Hokage!"

"Hit it where it hurts." I slumped. I expected jail time for my crime. Not a promotion to Genin.

"Huh? Who is this?" Sakura looked at me. "He looks like Naruto… Wait, are you his father?!" Sakura pointed in me in horror. "W-What are you doing here when your trash son is-"

"Because he is Naruto." Iruka-sensei smiled as Sakura recoiled back.

"H-How? Naruto! Drop the transformation this instant!" Sakura shouted put her hands on her hips. There are those cute furrowed brows… But now I felt horrible thinking that. Dammit, Raphtalia got me thinking I was older than I am.

"It's not a transformation." I sighed and dodged Sakura's punch with ease. It was like I was seeing her move in slow motion… Weird. "Please don't hit me. I'm like a rock, now." I rather her not break her hand.

"Master Naruto, why is that girl trying to hurt you?" Raphtalia stood up with her tail fluffed up in anger. She was still disarmed but had her fists clenched.

"Maa, maa, calm down," I scratched the back of my head. "She just thinks I'm pulling a prank. You remember how I used to look like."

"Oh, yeah!" Matthew laughed, "You grew with your levels and are not a child anymore."

"But I'm still twelve years old," I felt a vein pop on my forehead. Thankfully my new headband hid it. "My body might have aged, but I'm still mentally a kid."

"Huh? You can understand that man and woman?" Sakura blinked at me.

"Umino-san and Uzumaki-san were transported to a far away country by mistake," Shibi said as he looked over the kids. "It seems now they are our foremost experts we have for this country called Melromarc."

"Really?"

"What is it like!" The children bolstered questions out.

"Why does the lady got animal ears on her head?" One child pointed at Raphtalia.

"Raphtalia is a demi-human," I crossed my arms in thought. "They are like the Inuzuka clan, but they are part animal instead of looking like their canine partners."

"She's part animal?!"

"So cool! She probably has awesome powers!"

"Hey! He has bunny ears! He's so cute!"

"Seems they like you a lot, Raphtalia, Matthew."

"Eek! These two look so cute!" The girls crowded around Filo and Lial. "Are those wings real?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't they be?"

"You speak Fire?!"

"Fire? I don't have Fire affinity, but Lial does." Filo cocked her head.

"Fire short for Fire Tongue." I laughed at my daughters' confused faces. "It's what we call my native language as the countries each has their own variations even if similar on this continent."

"Oh, so you can spit fire, Father?"

"Fire breathe, Father?"

"No!… Well, sort of… That's beside the point!" I nursed my forehead. "You two must have translation magic similar to my shield. Hence you can understand others no matter the language."

"Oh," Both said before they cocked their heads. "Don't get it."

"Seems the apples don't fall far from the tree." Iruka-sensei laughed at my despair. These two were more airheads than me.

"F-Father?" Oh, Sakura looked horrified as she pointed at me. Sasuke actually had shock on his face, too. Damn, wished I had a camera. "How… Daughters… Naruto, how do you have children?!" Ow! I thought my ears recovered!

"Adopted them," I said and both my old classmates stared at me blankly.

"But… But they look just like you!" Sakura said with a red face.

"They used me as their reference for their human forms." I sighed with pinching the bridge of my nose. "We still have to get their clothes made so their transformation don't rip them to shreds."

"Transformation?" Sasuke asked with a bit of interest in his tone.

"Those two girls are not normal girls?" The Sasuke clone finally spoke up, not losing his strange smile.

"Yeah. Filo is a bird… creature called a Filolial. Lial is a Knight's Dragon." Oh, boy… The children's eyes lit up.

"Dragon?!"

"A real-life dragon?"

"Naruto, don't makeup lies!" Sakura attempted to hit me again. "How can two little girls be fictional animals?!" Okay. Slow motion was getting weirder.

"Can we tran-"

"Hell no!" I snapped at both girls. "You stay in human form. We don't need people freaking out over your real forms."

"Awww!" Both puffed their cheeks. "Meanie."

"You want no-"

"Maa, maa. Aren't you quite the strict parent," Kakashi stepped forward.

"I have to be." My eyebrow twitched at remembering how Filo and Lial were like before I got the monster crests on them. They would transform whenever they wanted, demanded food for almost anything I asked them to do, and both wouldn't listen to me!

I glared at Kakashi as he laughed at me… Wait. "You're chakra is still low." Oh, revenge is sweet. "Here, this should help you recover." I reached for a storage scroll I had in my hip sack. I checked my inventory before leaving the carriages. I took some of my medicines and supplies with me. I pulled out a Healing Beverage and one of the few Magic Power Waters I made. They were for sale, but I hadn't put them on display due to having so few. I wanted to sell them in an adventurer filed town to get the most from them.

"Mm? Medicine?" Kakashi took the two bottles from my hands. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's an apology for the hassle I put you through." I grinned at him.

"You can tell even though-"

"Yep."

"Naruto is a sensor-nin like me, Kakashi-senpai." Iruka smiled at the embarrassed ninja. "Though, kind of hard to hide that silver hair of yours."

"True." Kakashi let out a meek laugh.

"And you better drink that medicine before Naruto decides to charge you." Iruka-sensei gave me a sly look. "Naruto rarely does anything free. Especially giving his medicines away."

"Hey! We had to earn all our money from scratch!"

"But you would even charge bedridden patients."

"You think I do stuff out of charity?!" I glared at Iruka-sensei. "I think not! Everything has value and can be exchanged!"

"Including life?"

"Even life as you have to work to earn people's trust," I said as I nodded.

"What kind of twisted logic is-" Sakura stopped with hearing a groan. "Kakashi-sensei?! Are you alright?!" Sakura focused on the now green ninja.

"Yes… Just… So bitter." Kakashi whimpered while holding two empty bottles.

Tee hee.

I still haven't found a way to make my medicines less bitter. In fact, they all seemed to get more bitter outside Soul Healing Water. That one was delicious water that seemed only useful to me as it recovers my SP which the others don't have.

"It's a prank! Why did you drink that stuff?" Sakura scolded Kakashi.

"No. Naruto's medicines are real." Kakashi recovered from the taste. "I already feel my chakra levels almost restored. Are you planning to share the recipes to the Medic Corps?" Kakashi's eye-smiled at me.

"For a price," What? Why was everyone giving me blank looks? "I have to figure out how to get the herbs to either grow here or research substitutes here to make them." It will be a lot of hard work and I had limited time.

"Which we will gladly pay for your services, Naruto." Oh? The Old Man walked up with several ninja. "You are now part of the Medic Corps, after all."

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi nodded to the Hokage, "Visiting the class?"

"Actually, I'm here to complete a request Naruto asked of me."

"My request?" I asked as before my widened. "You're gonna make Raphtalia and Matthew ninja."

"Depends on the outcome of the test."

"Test?" I raised an eyebrow before seeing one ninja had Raphtalia's sword and Matthew's staff.

"Kakashi, would you mind sparring with Naruto and his companions?" The Old Man looked at the silver-haired ninja.

"Are you sure that is alright?" Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow. "Are they not ninja?"

"You are basically doing the Genin Exam with them." That shocked Kakashi, his group, and the children around us. "It would be a good thing for the youth to see how combat goes."

"I see." Kakashi sighed as the ninja handed Raphtalia and Matthew their weapons. "So, it will be three against one?"

"Lial wanna fight too!"

"Can we be ninja, too?"

"Can you two become ninja?" I said with a reluctant look on my face. "You two are only two weeks old. Isn't there an age restriction or something?"

"T-Two weeks old?!" Sakura puffed out her cheeks. "Stop lying, Naruto!"

"Are they demi-humans as well?" The Old Man asked.

"No. They are mon-er, animals. They grew up quickly into a Filolial Queen and Dragon Queen thanks to my shield. Hence they have transformation magic." I patted both monster girls on the hand. "Plus, it would be too mean to have a five against one fight." Not that I'm looking down on my fellow ninja, especially one that is an ANBU.

"I will allow it as they would be considered animal-nin." Both girls cheered and hugged the Old Man. "Some animal-nin have transformation techniques, so it's not too far of a stretch."

"Are you trying to punish Kakashi-san for something?" I gave a pity filled glance to Kakashi. "I know he's an elite in the village, but…" I am still figuring out the power scaling compared to the village and my party.

"Kakashi is a talented Jonin. He's much stronger than you underestimating him as."

"No… More I'm worried about us holding back as it is a spar." I don't need to add harming my fellow ninja on my record with still getting the scroll incident on there. "We haven't sparred in a while and have been fighting constantly."

"Well, that's all the more reason to have someone like Kakashi to test you." The Old Man laughed. Kakashi and I eyed each other. We both let out a sigh, knowing all too well this was not going to end well on either side. Nothing goes well on either side if the Old Man was happy about it.

* * *

We moved to a nearby training field near the academy. The kids were in awe when Filo and Lial came out of the bushes in their real forms and handed me their dresses.

"It really is a dragon!"

"You'll have to save up a lot for one." Iruka-sensei laughed at the kids with sparkled filled eyes. "Lial's a Knight's Dragon and those cost 20 gold coins."

"Twenty coins? Isn't that cheap?"

"No. As in solid gold coins."

"What?!" The kids looked at Iruka-sensei in shock and horror. "How does he have one?"

"He cheated at a lottery."

"Hey! I didn't cheat!" I puffed my cheeks at Iruka-sensei. "I didn't even know at the time it was abnormal to be able to sense things!"

"Right," Iruka-sensei smiled at me and I scowled back.

"Well, this will be a fun exercise," Kakashi sighed out as he popped his shoulders. "How about we do the bell exercise?"

"Bell exercise?" I asked as Kakashi reached into his hip pouch and pulled out two bells.

"Yes. You have to get these bells from me. However, since there is only two… Well, only two of the five of you will pass."

"Two out of five?" Filo asked, "That's isn't fair."

"In the ninja world, nothing is fair." Kakashi hummed as he put the bells on one of the loops of his pants. "You can use any weapon and techniques. You will have to come at me as if to kill me to get these bells."

"So can I eat him?"

"No!" I smacked my forehead at Kakashi's mortified eye at Filo. "No eating ninja. Plus, you don't know where he's been!" How much residual poison was in an elite ninja, anyway? It actually made me wonder if there were Poison Resistance abilities are in this world, too.

"Aw… But he looks tasty."

"Not you, too, Lial!" I shouldn't have used them for that threat against the bandits. I really, really shouldn't have planted the thoughts of humans as food in their heads. Aaagh. Just thinking of them eating humans… Squick, go away! Go away squicky thoughts!

"Go Filo! Lial!"

"Yeah! Eat up that lousy sensei!"

"Don't egg them on!" I snapped at the children and they hid behind Iruka-sensei, Old Man Hokage, and the other ninja. "Jeez. No. I order you two to not eat any Konoha ninja."

"What about other ninja?"

"We'll discuss that when the time comes."

"What are you teaching them, Master Naruto!" Raphtalia huffed at me with her tail angrily swiped from side to side.

"Ma, ma, let's get back on topic," Kakashi let out a weak laugh. "As I said, you need to come at me as if to kill me if you have any chance." I relayed what Kakashi said to Matthew and Raphtalia.

"As if we would let the odds deter us." Matthew chuckled while Raphtalia unsheathed her sword. "We fight for you, Master, not some stupid bells."

"Yes. As your sword, I will follow you even if I don't get a bell." Raphtalia stood in her stance, ready to strike.

"Good… Filo, you stick with Matthew! Lial, Raphtalia, front line with me!" I changed Tate-chan to the Light Metal Shield and held it before me.

"Ah! Filo wanted to fight, but o-kay," Filo got before Matthew as Lial prowled closer to Raphtalia and me.

"Seems you are taking me seriously even after all you said," Kakashi said with a slightly narrowed eye. "Seems you do have some respect for me." He whipped out… a book?

No. Books could be weapons, too. I found that out while discussing possible magic weapons for Matthew that more could be hidden. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a ninja version of combat grimoires.

"Oh? You are so serious even with me pulling out a book?"

"Of course. Ninja don't play by the rules." I smirked at Kakashi as I pushed chakra into my muscles. "And after learning magic, you can never look at a book the same ever again."

"Interesting." Kakashi's eye smiled at us. "Ready… Set… Go!"

"I am the Shield Hero and I order thee!" I shouted as Raphtalia, Lial, and I sped towards Kakashi. "Decipher the laws of nature and slow my enemy! Faust Slow Down!" I targeted Kakashi and he tried to casually dodge us.

Not happening! Put some effort in, Jonin!

"Huh?" The spell struck and Kakashi's eyes widen as Raphtalia and Lial pincer him with a sword and tail whip. He barely dodged at his slowed down speed and his hair got grazed by Raphtalia's sword. Lial used the force of her tail whip to spin around and her jaws wide open at Kakashi. She bit down only for a branch to break in her mouth.

Damn. A silent substitution! Where-

"Air Strike Shield!"

"Agh!"

Ow. That had to hurt an elite ninja's pride. Kakashi ran straight into my Air Strike Shield when he tried to push past us to Filo and Matthew.

"Zweite Aqua Shot!" Matthew unleashed an orb of water at my Air Strike Shield… Wait, something popped up in my status magic?

"Aqua Shield!" Matthew's magic never appeared and a new Air Strike Shield appeared behind Kakashi as he jumped back away from the first shield. This new shield was made of water instead of being energy like before.

"Shit!" Kakashi got grazed in the side as he dodged the hose like shot the shield unleashed while being lightly hit when retreating from the first shield.

Hey now! We can combine my skills with other's magic?! Where the hell was this in the manual… Oh, now it shows… How the hell did I miss that before?

"Faust Tornado!" Filo flapped her wings and unleashed a tornado. Kakashi rushed out of the way and turned back towards my group. He put the book away.

"Seems I won't be able to read with you lot." Kakashi chuckled, "Let's get serious." Whoa! Did the spell break?! He flew through hand seals so fast that I couldn't catch it! "Fireball Jutsu!" A huge sphere of fire shot at us.

"Behind me!" Raphtalia and Lial got behind me and I braced myself with chakra. A barrier formed when the fireball struck.

Good. Seems Magic Defense Up included chakra attacks like magic.

Wait... Kakashi vanished from where he was when the flames dispersed. Where-

"Up we go!"

"Lial! Flame attack now below!" I shouted as Lial grabbed Raphtalia and me by the arms and flew up.

"I am the source of all power and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and burn them! Faust Fire Breath!" A bolt of fire fired out of her mouth and toward the ground just as a pair of hands shot out of the ground. They quickly went back down just before the fire breath hit the ground.

The damn bastard used the ground as a shield and… "Shield Prison!" I encased Matthew in my prison skill, blocking Kakashi from attacking him from below.

"As if being underground will stop me! Hah! Hah!" Whoa! Filo began to stomp the ground and broke it open to expose the masked ninja. He looked at us wide-eyed.

"Matthew, below you at 9 o'clock!"

"Zweite Fire Blast!" A firestorm sparked outside the Shield Prison and headed straight for Kakashi.

"Water Bullet Jutsu!" A torrent of water shot out of Kakashi's masked mouth and put out the flames… And knocked the Shield Prison towards us.

"Gaugh!" Matthew landed hard as the skill dispersed. "I'm okay!" He leaped back onto his feet in a crouching position with his staff in hand. "Filo! Look out! He's casting jutsu again!" I could sense him kneading it inside his body.

"Got it! I am the source of all power and I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and disperse the tornado!"

"Wind Cutter Jutsu!" I could sense several blades of winds shot from Kakashi.

"Anti-Faust Tornado!" Filo flapped her wings and the blades turned into a breeze that ruffled her feathers. Where did she learn that? Well, glad to see again magic could counter jutsu. Definitely got to learn that.

"This is actually turning into a fun fight," Kakashi said with a cheerful tone. "Guess I really need to get serious." He eye-smiled before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

What? A shadow clone?… Where-

"Change Shield! Gotcha!" I substituted with Filo and blocked Kakashi's kunai with the Bee Needle Shield. The counter attack activated and Kakashi got two needles into his arm. I've been practicing my substitution jutsu like crazy since Kaus died.

"What a nasty shield!" Kakashi chuckled as he puffed into smoke and I was restrained from behind. "But, you shouldn't show your back to the enemy."

"Shit," I grabbed the kunai he tried to aim at my neck.

Clang!

"Huh?" That sound… It couldn't be. I looked down at my hand and saw no blood.

No way… No freaking way this was possible!

"Ku ku ku." I let a big grin my face. "Too bad. Your attack stat is too low." I changed the shield to the Two-head Black Dog Shield and slammed it right between us.

Ow! One bit me, but the other head had gone after Kakashi.

"Ouch!" He was forced to let me go.

"Air Strike Shield!" I made a shield between us and created distance. Wait… Thinking back.

"Matthew, fire now!"

"Right!" He chanted the spell as Kakashi went around the Air Strike Shield and headed straight to me. "Zweite Fire Blast!"

"Flame Shield Prison!" I was engulfed by a ball of flaming Shield Prison.

Hot! Hot!

But I pushed my chakra in my legs and ran right at Kakashi.

Wait! This feeling! It was similar to Motoyasu's Lightning Spear! It was sparking into the same of some kind of hound before Kakashi.

"As if!" I changed my shield to the Chimera Viper Shield and grounded to a halt.

"Lighting Hound Jutsu!" The prison was shattered with a loud snap and a hound of electricity shot right at me. I gritted my teeth as the attack hit and sparks flew all across my body.

Damn. Wait, what the hell? It barely bit into my health points compared to when I took an attack directly! Was I paralyzed? I was sure as hell feeling numb in the limbs.

"Time to end-"

"As if!" I blocked Kakashi's strike with my shield and smirked when the snakes lashed out. They scored a bite on his arm before he could pull back and land a ways from me while gripping his bit arm.

So I can still move… But it was weird. Guess this was what it was like to fight without feeling.

"Quite a nasty bag of tricks you've been pulling." Kakashi laughed before his eye widened at the sound of the bells. The bells hit the ground and Raphtalia appeared as her Hide Mirage canceled out. She reached for the bells, but Kakashi snatched them up and kicked her away.

"Dammit!" She gritted as she flipped and landed on her feet. "Gimme those bells!" She swung at Kakashi and he blocked her attack with a kunai. He reeled back to punch, but Raphtalia shifted back and I caught it with my shield. Kakashi backed off in time to avoid the snakes, but Raphtalia was right on him with her sword. He dodged and slashed at Raphtalia. I blocked Kakashi and Raphtalia countered with her sword.

Yes! Kakashi turned a little pale! The venom must have had an effect. He parried Raphtalia's attack and I charged in for the bells.

"Enough!" I fell flat on my face as Kakashi was replaced with a log. "Well, Kakashi, what do you think?" I looked up at the Old Man and found Kakashi kneeling before him.

"Dammit." I clicked my tongue. Of course, it was a fail. We didn't get any of the bells!

"They passed the Bell Test with flying colors."

"What?!" I yelled out in shock. "But wasn't the objective to get the bells?!" I stood up and pointed at the well-covered ninja.

"Nope. The bells were just a distraction to cause dissension amongst the team. The objective was to have you all work together to pass." Kakashi eye smiled at me. "Your group is the first group to get the exercise correct on the first go and even got me to pull out some of my tricks. My only passing Genin Team to date had to have a second chance."

"Eh?" I just blinked at him. My brain was not processing this correctly. How the flip did we just pass?

"Since they managed to pass the notorious bell test, what do you all think?" The Old Man looked to the ninja with him.

"They had you working out there, Hatake." One of the ninja laughed.

"Their teamwork is rough around the edges, but they make up for it with clearly trusting each other and having the creativity to boot." Another ninja snorted.

"Creativity is an understatement." Kakashi laughed out before his face turned green.

"Here! Take this antidote quickly!" I unsealed an Antidote and rushed over to Kakashi. I popped the bottle opened and forced it into his mouth through his cloth mask. His body glowed as the Potion Efficacy Skill took effect.

"That's… gross." Kakashi choked out once he had swallowed all of the Antidote. "That shield of yours is nasty."

"Yeah. Sorry, but when you pulled out that lightning jutsu, I had to use my strongest shield." I laughed weakly, as I scratched the back of my head. "I've killed a person with its venom once."

"I can attest to that as it made me quite ill," Kakashi sighed. "At least you keep the antidotes for that poison handy."

"No, this is a cure-all antidote." Kakashi's face drained of color. "I used the ability of my shield to increase its effectiveness."

"I am glad you are a medic-nin and on our side." Kakashi sighed as Sasuke pushed past the children.

"Dope, how did you get so strong?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at me. "What the hell have you been doing to get strong enough to push Kakashi into a corner?"

"Sasuke…" Kakashi said in a tired tone.

"Do you think I would give anything away for free?" I smirked at Sasuke. As if I would give this snob anything.

"I'll pay you!" Sasuke shocked everyone. "Anything to get stronger! I'll even sell the rights to some of my clan's jutsu to you!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura reached out to him. "What do you mean?! You just can't give our your clan's secret jutsu!"

"Oh?" The Old Man looked on with interest. The ninja, however, looked a bit disgusted.

I just looked Sasuke in the eyes. I saw hatred, it burned in his eyes… Yet, he wasn't looking at me with that hatred. Only determination and seriousness was aimed at me.

"Why are you wanting to get stronger?" I asked as one of the ninja lead the children back to the academy.

"I… have sworn to kill someone." Venom filled Sasuke's voice. "I have to kill him." Sasuke clenched his fists in fury.

"And what will you do if you can't kill this person?"

"I will…" Sasuke took a step back as I narrowed my eyes at him. I felt my own hatred and rage boiling. "I will kill him no matter what!"

"I'm not talking about your determination to achieve your goal." Sasuke looked a bit pale and shocked at me. "I am talking about what you will do if you can't kill him."

"I… I…" Sasuke gritted his teeth at me. "Why the hell would you ask that?!"

"I cannot avenge Kaus," I said in a low tone.

"Kaus?" Sasuke and Sakura spoke at the same time.

"My comrade," I gritted my teeth at the thought of Motoyasu and King Melromarc. "He… was family to me. Yet, his murderer goes free and I was the one branded Kaus' murderer."

"What?!" Sakura actually looked mortified. "That's not right! How the hell- No, what… What has happened to you, Naruto?"

Huh? What's with the looks everyone were giving me? Even the ninja all looked at me a bit horrified.

"A lot thanks to Tate-chan on my arm." I raised Tate-chan up. "Not that I would really blame her as she just chose me, not summoned me."

"So, that is how you disappeared?" The Sasuke-clone smiled at me. Seemed whatever got the others wound up didn't spook him. "You were summoned like a summoning?"

"Yeah. And I'm stuck in the contract." I said with a snort. "It will only end if I complete the task that I was summoned for, or I die. Tate-chan teleports me to the… war zone I have to fight on."

"So, doesn't that mean you are allied to someplace other than Konoha?" I threw a punch into the Sasuke's clones face. His eyes opened slightly at the loud clang that came with my ineffective attack.

"If I could kill that blasted king and his bitch daughter, I would. I would kill them, along with Motoyasu, but I can't." I glared at the Sasuke clone and snorted. "I need Motoyasu alive to fight and I don't want to risk dragging Konoha into the twisted politics… Melromarc is currently in. I fight only to protect the innocent people who get caught up by the battles." And those Waves really could destroy the world if left unchecked.

"Your punch didn't hurt at all." The Sasuke clone asked with a tinge of confusion in his voice. "How is that possible? You clearly used your whole body to punch me."

"Tate-chan increases my defenses at the cost of my attack power." I snorted before focusing back on Sasuke. "So, I'll let you in on one piece about how I got stronger. I learned to fight with others. Forced to do so, as I can't even wield any weapons besides my shield." Which, on a side note, I really need to see what else I could combine my skills with. I just stumbled across it by chance. I wonder what other effects magic could mix with my skills would produce? Could it work with jutsu?

"Teamwork." Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Why does everyone say that? Teammates only slow-"

"Sasuke, did that… person who enraged you tell you to be alone?" Sasuke's eyes widened at me and I saw it. A flash of recognition. "Was that man or woman… very smart?"

"How do-"

"As a warning from someone who fell into the trap of such a person, don't allow them to pull the strings that make up your life," I said in a flat tone. King Melromarc may have the upper hand as ruler of his kingdom, but he can't control me without a fight. I will figure out a way through his clever plans and pay him back tenfold for his actions.

"Naruto," Sasuke said my name but looked away with shame in his eyes.

"Excuse me, Naruto," The Old Man stepped forward. "However, we have much to discuss. Do you mind if we go to my residence? I have a meeting room set up so everyone can understand each other."

"Yes, sir." I took a deep breath and tried to cool my head as my group followed the Hokage.

"Kakashi-san, your team is to come to this meeting as well."

"Oh? This will be interesting..." Kakashi said, but I paid no attention to his team and him.

At least Sasuke got knocked off my hate list. Seemed the jerk had similar motives to me and was tricked…

Just wish Sasuke would learn not to be a dick about it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: Well, my week hiatus turned into two weeks. Not that I am going to apologize partly due to my new job did not tell me I was going to be setting up a whole new store. Thankfully, the store will be opening this weekend and that means we just have to focus on maintaining the store instead of doing constant stocking like the past three weeks. However, my buffer is eaten up and I have been struggling with writing the next chapter, so I do not know when I will be posting the next chapter. I am still figuring out my writing schedule as these past three weeks have been crazy. However, things should thankfully calm down after the soft opening... Even though I expect to see customers every day with how many people popped by thinking we were open. So, my schedule will be a bit in the unknown for now as I get my writing schedule back on track.

“Oh, my, this tea is quite pleasant.” Aunt chimed out and… seemed to have one hell of a thick skin. The room was filled with various ninja clan heads and other ninja ranks in Konoha. Not to mention the Old Man and his two advisers at the very front of the meeting table.

 

The glances from the ninja really made my spine crawl and made me wish I hadn’t removed my cloth mask as a sign of respect. Matthew and Raphtalia were tense. Filo and Lial… They were napping with using Iruka-sensei’s lap as a pillow near the door.

 

“Why, thank you. It’s from one of our tea shops in the Konoha Tea Avenue.” The Old Man smiled at Aunt. “And please allow me to first apologize for our behavior. We ninja are careful when it comes to foreigners.”

 

“Oh, ho! I don’t mind at all.” Aunt chuckled, “To be in a hero’s world alone is a once in a lifetime chance no one ever gets. Just seeing your culture has already spun the cogs in my mind for so many ideas.”

 

“That is good to hear.” The Old Man smirked. “Then you don’t mind us starting with your business.”

 

“My business?” Uh-oh. Everyone’s eyes become sharp. Including Aunt’s. This just got serious. “What do you want from a little old lady like myself?”

 

“From the reports, you are a magic shop owner, correct?”

 

“Why yes,” Aunt smiled. “One of the best magic shops in the capital, though my business is aimed more for adventurers and common folk than the more… lofty shops.”

 

“Would you like to branch out to Konoha?” Now that shocked the ninja. “From what I’ve seen, magic is much like jutsu. It wouldn’t be that hard for you to set up shop here.”

 

“I still have my shop to run… But, you mean more of a branch location than me staying here, correct?” Aunt said with a frown.

 

“Why are you even considering letting this foreigner set up shop here?” One of the ninja I didn’t recognized spoke up. “And why is that… boy here.” His eyes coldly glared at me. “Shouldn’t he be punished for-”

 

“The real culprit is currently in Morino’s care.” The ninja looked at the Old Man in shock. “We are currently combing the academy instructors for more traitors.”

 

“So, our children are at risk?” The Hyuuga head had a firm frown on his lips.

 

“With what we gotten out of Mizuki so far, he only aimed at Naruto directly.” The Old Man’s eyes narrowed with silent fury. “But I am not taking chances. Our children are our future. Anyone targeting our youth is akin to being a traitor, even if it is just for their own gains.”

 

“And how does this link to our… visitors.” Oh, Shikamaru’s dad spoke up. “I saw some of the documentation before this meeting. It seems like you are revamping the academy system for the younger year classes.”

 

“As always, Nara-san. Sharp as a kunai.” The Old Man chuckled. “Naruto and Umino-san’s disappearance was due to another world summoning Naruto as one of their saviors.”

 

“Are… you serious?” Ino’s father asked after a moment of silence.

 

“Very. We just happened to find out that the Flying Thunder God Jutsu works between worlds.” Both of the advisers looked at the Old Man with frowns. “And do you think we will pass up taking advantage of this opportunity?”

 

“But… There’s only so few who can use the Fourth Hokage’s jutsu.” Shikamaru’s dad said with a huff. “How can we risk sending them to another world and losing our only casters of that hidden art.”

 

“Who said we would be sending all  those people there?” The Old Man scoffed. “The reason Naruto was summoned was to stop the end of that other world.”

 

“So, it isn’t to send our people there… But to bring the people of that world here?” Chouji’s father smiled. “You don’t trust the Uzumaki will succeed in saving that world.”

 

“It’s a possibility,” The Old Man frowned, “I’m sorry to be blunt Naruto, but if what you told us is true…”

 

“No. It’s not your fault, Old Man.” I gritted my teeth at remembering the first Wave. “If the three other heroes keep fighting the way they did… Even I have little hope for that world.” I sighed out and pinched the bridge of my nose to calm myself. “You know what happened in Lute Village, right, Aunt?”

 

“Yes, my grandson told me all about it.” Aunt scowled. “The first thing the knight commander’s ordered was the use of Fire Covenant magic the instant they reached the village. If you were not there, the villagers still in the village would have been caught in the spell.”

 

“Covenant Magic?” Homura asked with a furrowed brow.

 

“Magic that combines the strength of several magicians to produce a stronger spell.” Aunt explained with a huff. “Those knights foolishly lobbed a war time spell into a village being invaded by monsters. And then they tried to push defending the village onto the Shield Hero’s party. Thankfully, one commander changed his mind and assisted aside my grandson and his corp… But I can’t look past my country’s leaders’ actions.”

 

“So these knights you speak of just put glory before their fellow citizens?” Whoa, that definitely made the room drop a few degrees.

 

“Yes. Then the King made the Spear Hero the governor of Lute Village and that silly hero almost got away with levying a heavy tax on the village if not for the Shield Hero’s interference stopped that.”

 

“You heard of that.” I looked away embarrassed.

 

“Why yes. Your Filolial saved the village in that race with the Spear Hero.” Aunt smiled at me. “The governor and villagers as well as myself couldn’t believe a word the royal court put in that public announcement.” Then Aunt fumed, “And to call your abilities as cheating magic in that duel was hogwash. Much of the magician community is at arms that the Great Sage King would do such injustice to our arts!”

 

“I used ninjutsu in that fight.”

 

“Doesn’t matter as to me, your world’s art is just as precise as magic.” Aunt pumped her fist before herself. “Many things have been passed for from heroes of the past to our world, but you are the first I know from the records to bring a new method of fighting and sorcery.”

 

“Huh? Really?” I blinked at Aunt.

 

“Yes. Both magic users and jutsu users can learn from one another.” Aunt smiled, “To make new magic spells, one has to experiment and push the boundaries of nature.”

 

“That I agree with,” The Old Man smiled at Aunt. “I saw quite well how magic can be useful in both battle and everyday situations with Naruto’s team test. Though, there are weaknesses, too.”

 

“So you are hoping to bring the refugees into our village to benefit both sides.” Kiba’s mother chuckled. “Does that include livestock and such?”

 

“Naruto already have two such creatures which will be his animal-nin.” The Old Man looked at Filo and Lial. “Naruto has become a fine medic-nin through learning healing magic and that world’s medicine. Medicine that can recover chakra from what I seen with Kakashi.”

 

“I can attest my chakra levels have recovered…. Though the taste of those medicines aren’t very… pleasant.”  Kakashi said as the little bit of his visible skin turned a shade green. “His poisons are just as nasty.”

 

“Can the herbs be grown?” I sighed, not knowing. Most of the herbs I gotten came from the wild or bought from other apothecaries.

 

“Why yes. There are herbs useful to magic potions.” Aunt chuckled. “The old man who owns the pharmacy wouldn’t mind a new source of income as he does grow some of his own herbs.”

 

“Good. Finding the herbs for magic power water is a pain.” If I could get the seeds, I could grow the herbs in my apartment. Wait, could plants be grown on a carriage? There was space on the sides where I could attach pots to if I wanted to.

 

“Indeed. But seeing the climate here, you might be able to grow lots of those herbs. This village is so full of mana, it is perfect for herbs that need lots of it to thrive.”

 

“Naruto, you are running a peddling service right now in that world, correct?” The Old Man got us back on trek.

 

“Y-Yes, sir. I’ve been selling mostly medicines and materials we gather from hunting.” As if I was going to let them know the title they have given me in that world due to it. “I just started making accessories, too.”

 

“Really? Including imbuing?” Aunt blinked at me.

 

“Yeah. Though, still a struggle to imbue mana and chakra without dropping the quality.” I groaned out. “Especially with the ones that absorb damage I broke a few trying to imbue that handy ability.”

 

“You can imbue such high quality buffs?” Aunt looked at me in shock.

 

“Huh? What cha mean?” My interest wasn’t the only one sparked. Everyone else seemed hooked on this conversation.

 

“Yes. Damage absorption is a rare imbue. Many nobles and government officials seek such accessories as they can often be life saving in assassination attempts. Adventurers, too, would pay quite a bit even for a minor damage absorption accessory due to that one absorbed attack could save their lives with their line of work.” Aunt said in awe.

 

“Odd. That’s one of the common effects I get with imbuing with chakra.” I just thought it was normal and the breaking of my test pieces as just error on my part. Was it instead due to me using materials not fit for a high rank imbuing?

 

“May I see one of these accessories?” Oh boy, the Hyuuga clan head looked at me with a scary face.

 

“Sure.” I pulled out my storage scroll and unsealed two necklaces. “The ruby one is imbue with mana for a defense up while the sapphire one has a chakra imbue for the same effect.” I pushed the two necklaces across the table to the Hyuuga clan head.

 

“Byakugan.” He made a hand sign and the veins around his eyes popped up. He studied both necklaces carefully and his eyebrows knitted as he looked over both like a prized weapon.

 

“Is there anything odd with them?” Koharu asked with a hint of interest.

 

“Amazing,” The Hyuuga clan head put the necklaces down. “I’ve never seen anything like these. It’s almost like they had chakra to begin with.”

 

“Like chakra blades?” Homura asked and the Hyuuga clan head shook his head.

 

“No. Chakra blades are made out of a metal that absorbs chakra, but it can’t hold onto that chakra outside residue amounts.” The Hyuuga clan head pushed the two necklaces back to me. “These two pieces of jewelry are embedded with chakra that syncs with the wearer and is probably how it produces the effect Uzumaki said they would.”

 

“One is mana, not chakra.” I corrected the Hyuuga head. “It’s one of the two parts that makes chakra and magic uses mana.”

 

“But it looks like chakra.” The Hyuuga head looked at both accessories with confusion.

 

“That’s because mana sticks close to chakra in non-magic users.” I explained, “Once you start using mana, it spreads out and is like a… glow? Aura?” I bit my lip trying to think of how to describe it.

 

“Now that you mention it.” The Hyuuga clan head stared at us intensely. What is he looking at? I hope it wasn’t my underwear… “You’re right. There seems like a substance around you. It makes seeing your chakra network harder for me.”

 

“Harder to see?” I cocked my head. “What cha mean by that? I sense chakra and mana pretty clearly.”

 

“Let me phrase it this way,” The Hyuuga clan head gave a small smile as he closed his eyes. “Looking at you all makes my eyes hurt from straining like one has a glare in their eyes.”

 

“S-Sorry!” Raphtalia slightly bowed with Matthew. “We didn’t know.”

 

“No, no. It’s actually quite an interesting sight I never thought I see. You could say this mana could possibly counter the Byakugan if used just right.”

 

“You really mean it?”

 

“You seriously didn’t just say the Uzumaki brat figured out a way to defeat one of Konoha’s noble clans?”

 

“Eh? Is… Is it really such a big deal?” I nervously laughed only to gulp when all the ninja looked at me with scary faces. “You only get like this if you use magic. Which it took Iruka-sensei and I getting a feel for mana from a precious ore to figure it out.”

 

“Oh? You had to feel mana to get it?” Aunt asked before her eyes widen. “Ack! Of course! If you’ve always used this chakra, you must have not understood the feeling of mana!”

 

“Yeah. It made learning magic from those grimoires disheartening till we got over that hump.” I sighed.

 

“I see. So it is best to have an aid to feel mana for the shop that opens here.” Aunt said with a thoughtful look.

 

“So, you don’t mind opening shop here?” The Old Man said to Aunt.

 

“Of course. I was planning to expand my business anyways.” Aunt hummed out. “Though I would love to learn to use this chakra and jutsu. If I can assist in making new tools for jutsu users and magic users, then I am one very happy magician.”

 

“Like putting jutsu into crystal balls?” Now, that was a tempting idea.

 

“Yes. If you don’t unleash the magic in a crystal ball, you can use the crystal as a medium to cast the magic with little prep. Hence why they are so expensive.” Aunt hummed out. “Ah! How about a barter? Can you teach me this chakra thing to me and I’ll spin the magic threads for free.”

 

“Sounds good to me.” I crossed my arms with a smirk. “Though, be careful with your research. Chakra is a combination of health power and mana.”

 

“So use too much can result in death.” Aunt nodded. “I will keep that in mind.”

 

“You’re giving away our village’s secrets to these foreigners?” A Jonin Ninja snarled at me.

 

“Chakra isn’t a village secret.” The Old Man shot a dubious looked at the Jonin. “And two of those foreigners are now official Genin of Konoha. However, we will be receiving… refugees from this other world. I am hoping that both sides can benefit from these circumstances.”

 

“Both sides?” Raphtalia asked. “Wouldn’t it mainly be Konoha that will be benefiting from this?”

 

“Well, there’s still a chance Naruto and the other heroes succeed in their mission.” The Old Man smirked, “Hence we will be sending Kakashi-san’s team as an experiment to see if our model of missions will work in this other world.”

 

“What?” I did a double take at the Old Man.

 

“You want to send the last Uchiha and one of our top elite to another world?” Koharu glared at the Old Man.

 

“Mainly because I am making Kakashi Naruto’s team Sensei due to the fact that we lack a Jonin who can handle the situation they are in.” The Old Man explained, “The plan is for Team 7 to travel with Naruto’s team till this Wave is close to hitting. We will then have them come back to Konoha and discuss how to assist Naruto with the impending invasion. We can’t provide much support, but I think we can spare some forces to assist in evacuations.”

 

“So, we will basically be marketing our services to this other world?” Ino’s dad said with a thoughtful look.

 

“Yes. This other world uses copper, silver, and gold coins for currency.” Everyone looked at the Old Man with wide eyes. “If we can establish a means of income from there, we can build up a buffers in cases of emergencies and ryou becomes harder to use.”

 

“Like that bad winter.” Agh! I shuttered along with the other ninja. I remembered that harsh winter when crops were hard to come by. It was all thanks to cotton that was planted instead of food stuff by the surrounding area farmers and a harsh, cold winter that Konoha had gotten a taste of starvation from. If not for stockpiles put away for possible invasions or disasters, there may have been deaths in Konoha with how high prices for food gotten. Even ramen cups shot up and strained my pocketbook.

 

“I don’t have much hope for the world,” I groaned. “The king of Melromarc summoned us four heroes while a conference was going on to decide which country was going to summon which hero. The conference had turned into a talk of war or not… Which the king loves to add fuel to the flames by having the borders full of knights and blocking me from leaving the country.”

 

“What?” Aunt looked at me with horror. “What about the Waves hitting the other countries?”

 

“I don’t know if the king is allowing any of the other heroes out of Melromarc,” I gave a flat expression to Aunt. “If I can’t sync with the other hourglasses, I can’t be teleported to where those other Waves are hitting at. I can only see the timer for the Waves aimed at Melromarc’s area. I bet the King wants me to go to the border to disguise killing me as a border dispute.”

 

“The Covenant Magic during the Wave,” Aunt whimpered as her face drained of color. “And I heard the Spear Hero tried to duel you at the castle and-”

 

“I would have survived it… Kaus didn’t,” I looked down and clenched my fists. Kaus could still be alive if not for that duel… Taking on Kakashi’s lightning hound made that clear to me.

 

“I take back what I said before,” Aunt turned to the Hokage. “I-I can hire someone to run my shop back at the capital. May I seek shelter for my family and I? My children and their children barely survived when the Wave hit. If the Wise Sage King has gone senile as the Shield Hero said, it’s only a matter of time before Melromarc falls to ruin, be it due to the King foolishly keeping the heroes in Melromarc or our neighbors attack us due to the king’s actions.” Aunt looked ready to cry.

 

“Gladly. Uchiha-kun, is it alright if we borrow some of the Uchiha district for the refugees?” Everyone looked at Sasuke.

 

“… I will allow it on one condition.” Sasuke looked at me. I didn’t like the mischievous look in his eyes. “Naruto… Uzumaki-san has to share to me how his comrades and he got strong enough to drive Kakashi into a corner.”

 

“I wasn’t driven into a corner.” Kakashi gave his student the stink eye.

 

“You are going to stay persistent, are you?” I blandly looked at Sasuke.

 

“I need to get stronger.” Sasuke gave me a serious frown. “If whatever you did the past weeks could make you this strong, then I can do the same to get stronger faster.”

 

“Sasuke, it’s rude for you to demand such things from an ally.” Kakashi scolded his student. “I know your goals… But everyone has their-”

 

“Fine.” Kakashi turned to me with a shocked eye. “It will cost me 50 silver, but if you’re fine with getting a slave crest… Then it should help you get stronger since you’re coming with us.”

 

“Say what?” Sakura stood up and glared at me. “You are wanting to make Sasuke-kun your slave?!”

 

“My Slave User Shield series affects the growth of my slaves. My Monster Trainer Shields do the same for Filo and Lial.” I sighed at the nasty looks aimed at me. “It was why I was a bit hesitant about the test. I don’t know how strong and fast the growth is in fighting.” It was a constant thing I had problems measuring both my party’s and others’ abilities.

 

I thought the knights would be a threat, yet Iruka-Sensei told me it was easy to defeat one like he did at the castle. Yet, it took the King’s Shadows to subdue my party. Yet, Iruka-sensei took out the back up bandits all by himself and I killed their Class-up bodyguard by poisoning him with the Chimera Viper Shield. And there was the battle with the Nue… Filo literally smashed the beast’s head straight off its body… Agh, just thinking of it made me queasy.

 

Just what was my shield skills doing to my party? As well as how were we compared to Shadows and knights? Same to our fellow ninja? Kakashi was an ANBU and he underestimated us. He is probably a lot stronger, but that fight had to be Chunin strength at a minimum.

 

“There are ninja in that world,” I said with a serious tone. “I’ve only seen them serving nobility and clearly are ANBU in focus in their work. Are you sure you want to risk a Genin team in such unknown territory? I know they can at least take down a Chunin.” I glanced back at Iruka-sensei and he nodded back to me.

 

“How many confrontations have you had with these ninja?” Another Jonin asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Only once.” I said with a frown. “The king restrained my companions with his ninja. We haven’t had any direct fights against ninja. Hence it is a variable I have no clue about.” And that was why the slave and monster crests have been a must. As well as that I take the masked lady’s information and help with a grain of salt.

 

“Then we can spare some ANBU to guard Team 7 and observe these ninja.” The Old Man got nods from the others. “You have met ally ninja?”

 

“Only my benefactor’s ninja and I am cautious around them.” I sighed, “I already paid back my benefactor for the monetary assistance. They’re been sharing information with me on what is going on at the conference and of the wide view of politics.”

 

“Then we at least have a starting point.” The Old Man said with a smirk. “Though, our objective is more to preserve and save what we can from this other world. Kakashi, any major risk to your team, you are to evacuate back to Konoha.”

 

“Understood,” Kakashi nodded to the Old Man. “Does that include Naruto and his part of the team?”

 

“Yes. They will be teleported back when the Wave hits. Keeping Naruto and your team alive is the priority.” The Old Man said as he looked at the other ninja. “We will use Naruto’s peddling business as a cover to gather resources. We will have him sell items there so Naruto can get the funds to get those resources.”

 

“Why do we have to give up our resources?” A medic-nin spoke up. “What is there stopping this other world from taking our jutsu and such to use it against us?”

 

“Yeah, same with weapons.” Chouji’s dad added in. “There is too much.” I couldn’t stop myself. I burst into laughter. “Why are you laughing, Uzumaki?!” Chouji’s father slammed his fist on the table.

 

“Master! Why are you laughing?”

 

“Master Naruto! This isn’t the time to be laughing?!”

 

“Ow!” I stopped laughing and looked back to find Sakura-chan nursing her fist. “What is your head- No, why are you laughing, you idiot!”

 

“Ah, sorry, sorry.” I sheepishly scratched the back of my head with a grin.

 

“It seems Naruto gets what resources I am referring to.” The Old Man got confusing looks from everyone else including his council.

 

“What do you mean?” A Jonin asked.

 

“Naruto’s business is geared towards civilians, not combatants.” Shikamaru’s father chuckled with a smirk. “You want us to raid the 100 ryou shops and give the items to Naruto to sell for massive profits.”

 

“Not to that extreme, but that’s the gist.” The Old Man laughed. “Soap, cooking tools, farming tools, and so on. I know the clans and various departments have other means of income that can result in excellent profits with low risks. We will compensate any clans and departments that assist in this operation.”

 

“So… We are basically assisting in a non-ninja business to capture new resources?” The Hyuuga clan head said with a frown.

 

“Exactly. Kakashi’s first Genin team will focus on doing mission work in this other world to see if we can use that as a source of income. His second team will continue their business and turn the profits into new resources.”

 

“So, what new resources you want me to focus on first?” Well, outside of herbs and magic related knowledge. That was something I knew for sure to focus on.

 

“Animals and seeds.” I felt my eyes twitched.

 

“As in… bringing the creatures of that world to this one?” I asked as my stomach dropped.

 

“Yes. We don’t know how badly these Waves will wreck that world’s ecology. Hence we want to at least secure some of the species of plants and animals.” The Old Man blinked at me as if confused. “If we can get more like your two daughters, then-”

 

“We will have another Akimichi clan.” My head fell flat onto the table. I could imagine it now. A massive amounts of Filo and Lial invading Konoha’s restaurants and food sources. “And the amount of magic thread needed just to clothe them all.” If they ended up the same as Filo and Lial.

 

“I’ll give you my spinning wheel.” I looked at Aunt in shock. “I have an extra distaff for the crystal, so I’ll just purchase a new spinning wheel here once I get settled in.”

 

“Thank you, Aunt!” I hugged the elderly magician. Now I wouldn’t need to buy myself a spinning wheel to use the crystals!

 

“No problem. You are already giving my family and me a safe place from the Waves and my country.” Aunt said happily. “If you are going to have more cute children like your daughters, you’ll need it more than this old lady. Transforming at my age is really stressful.”

 

“Though, food… will be a problem.” I gulped as I let go of Aunt. “Filo and Lial are bottomless pits. And it was worse when they grew up in two days. They ate literally two cows worth of meat in one night.”

 

Yep. There it was. The looks of shock and horror finally came on the ninja’s faces. Now they got the grim picture.

 

“We will provide you rations to assist you on this mission. Though I want you to raise more of these creatures, we also like to bring some over to preserve the species.”

 

“I’ll see if I can drag Beloukas-san into this world for…” I stopped and looked at Raphtalia and Matthew. “Old Man, if possible, could my payment for my compensation in this operation be in the form of funds to buy slaves in the other world?”

 

“How can you ever demand such a thing?!” Sakura shouted at we and I dodged her fist.

 

“Are you really going to drop that low?” Ino’s father glared at me as every ninja at the table… Wait, except the Hyuuga head who has his head slightly down and looking away. Even the Old Man frowned at me.

 

“I want to find and purchase the people enslaved after the first Wave that hit the world.” I said and Matthew and Raphtalia gasped at me. “They were betrayed by their own country after the disaster. I want to save them as they are Raphtalia and Matthew’s fellow villagers and friends.”

 

“So, you plan to use the slavery system to achieve your goal?” Shikamaru’s father asked with some shock.

 

“Melromarc is a human supremacy country. Just trying to take them would only cause more problems than solutions.” I gritted my teeth while remembering the public service announcement. “So, why not use the slavery system against Melromarc? Or that of other countries? No one will bat an eye if slaves disappearing due to the discriminations against demi-humans in Melromarc. It should be the same for demi-human countries for humans if I’m guessing the politics correctly.”

 

Then I smiled. “And we can get rid of trash in exchange for gold coins. We can use our criminals and prisoners as fodder against the Waves if we wanted to.” Mizuki being my slave was so juicy of an idea.

 

And if the level cap still happens to ninja, then it would be easy to keep control of the criminals with slave crests. As well as get rid of said criminals as the Waves are supposed to get stronger and stronger. It would be a much better use for them than being left in cells to rot.

 

“And risk our village’s secrets?” A Jonin in a lab coat hissed. “Why would we do such a risk-”

 

“Slave crests in the other world can be used to control a person. There is probably stronger crest to ensure absolute control… And there has to be our own seals and methods we can use to negate such risks? Heck, even removing their voice boxes or sealing their chakra can be a solution to that problem.”

 

Oh boy. Twisted expressions landed on me. Some of horror and fear. Others of anger and disgust. To me, however, I cannot take betrayal and traitors lightly. Not to me or Konoha. However, wasn’t it foolish to let these criminals be wasted? Why not use the wasted talent and have them pay for their crimes with their bodies?

 

“You do have a point.” The Old Man sighed, gaining shock from ninja and visitor alike. “Our prison is full of various criminals and traitors. It’s a problem discussed many times… But, there really hasn’t been a solution we could act on without controversy around it.”

 

“Right. It would be ludicrous to send our criminals to another world.” Homura said with a huff.

 

“And that’s where you are wrong,” Shikamaru’s father spoke up with his arms crossed. “There is little means for these criminals to get back to our world and it allows us to save on our own forces from facing any danger. It’s actually an ingenious way for us to get rid of our riskiest criminals outside outright killing them.”

 

“Shikaku, there are-” Shikamaru’s father held up his hand before Ino’s father’s face.

 

“It may not be the most moral solution, but it is very smart and beneficial to our village and this other world. Heck, we can even make deals with minor criminals to even colonize in this other world.”

 

“Add in the limited amount of people who can freely move between the two worlds, it does make more sense to trap criminals there.” Oh, Morino finally spoke up. “It would be more secure and give our prison more control on whose stays in cells and who to get rid of without the populace getting their nerves in a knot.”

 

“But, what if this other world has a means to get to this one?” Ino’s father asked. “Then we would be at risk.”

 

“All the more to take advantage of the slavery system already in place there.” I grinned wider. “Even a basic crest makes it very hard to disobey one’s master if all the settings are used. The reason my party even still has our crest on is actually to prevent the ninja there from ambushing one of us in disguise due to the conditions set by the crests.” Even I can’t attack my comrades as Iruka-sensei ordered me not to and the same went with me ordering the same command to the others.

 

“Wait… You have a seal on you?” Chouji’s father asked as everyone looked at me.

 

“Yes. A monster crest since the normal slave crest wouldn’t work on me.” I put my hand to my crest. “Iruka-sensei is set as my owner and Iruka-sensei has a slave crest on him with me as his owner. It was kind of a must with how stacked the deck was if we compare Shadows as that world’s ANBU.” Which, without a doubt, I do believe they were at that level.

 

“You’re not afraid of being controlled?” Shikamaru’s father said with awe.

 

“I have absolute trust in Iruka-sensei and my comrades.” I said with a smile. “However, I do have more trust in slaves. Heck, even if they are Konoha’s criminals made slaves, I would trust them more with my life in battle then the shit heads I seen that pass as Melromarc’s defense forces.”

 

“You’ve changed, Naruto.” Huh? The Old Man gave me a sad look. I wonder why? I was just saying the truth considering the knights did try to kill me. Not to mention the King turned his whole kingdom against me.

 

If Mizuki taught me one thing as my sensei, it was never EVER trust someone upfront. Which, I hoped the Old Man would let me enslave Mizuki to get back at him almost ruining Iruka-sensei’s and my life.

 

“We will discuss this more later.” The Old Man sighed and looked at his ninja. “Let’s first focus on the experiment and gathering of resources. Kakashi-san, your team and you should prepare to disembark as soon as possible. We can’t have Naruto and his team too long here or else it will raise too many questions for this country of Melromarc.”

 

“Yes sir.” Kakashi nodded.

 

“Hokage-sama, is it alright if I keep on working with Naruto?” Iruka-sensei spoke up from his position.

 

“You will have to. You will have to undergo evaluations and strict observation before you can go back to teaching at the academy.” The Old Man smiled as Iruka-sensei patted Filo and Lial’s heads. “You will be of more use assisting Team 7 with their missions. Now, Team 7, head out and prepare for the long journey ahead. We still have much to discuss here.”

 

“Yes, sir.” We all stood up and bowed to the Old Man. I glanced at the variety of expressions aimed at us. However, I noticed one thing in common.

 

Wariness.

 

Of course. I am not just Konoha’s weapon, but I had technically gone rogue. Just because the Old Man made me a Genin didn’t mean the news of my crime and criminal status would just go away.

 

“Heh. Screwed no matter what.” I muttered as we left the room. Did I still want to become Hokage? Would it fix things or only make things worse between the villagers and me? Especially with how my name has been dragged through the mud here. Would I even be able to repair it considering how ninja are?

 

Mizuki has it coming. I will make sure he pays for screwing over Iruka-sensei and me.

 


End file.
